Ojamajo Doremi Zero
by The Blue Time Ranger
Summary: Back to zero, as it were. With just one simple act of defiance, the history of Ojamajo Doremi has been thrown off the rails. Doremi and friends' history is on the verge of collapse, and as the only survivor, Nick must set out with his new partner Histoire, an Oracle who keeps history together, in order to gather the pieces of his shattered history and regain what he has lost...
1. A Slip Through Time and Space

It started out just like any other day, honestly.

I was just hanging out with my friends and enjoying this oddly-perfect early spring day.

I watched Aiko zip around the three basketball courts, sinking shot after shot as she always does.

I watched Doremi practicing her volleyball serve alongside Onpu, who was currently taking a break from all of her idol business. Hey, being an idol can be tiring, people.

I watched Hazuki reading the latest novel in that new series of mysteries she's been getting into lately (it was thanks to me getting her the first novel for her birthday).

I watched Poppu and Hana taking turns on the nearby swing set, Hana excitedly proclaiming she wanted to go as high as possible. I watched Poppu oblige, pushing Hana forward with all of her might.

I watched Fami teleporting gleefully around a confused Kirino, laughing at how flustered the violet witch was making my sister.

I watched Momoko just lying there on the grass, enjoying the nice weather while it lasted.

...I watched the sky turn an eerie shade of black before everything up there shattered like it had been made of fragile porcelain.

All I could do was watch as strange beams of light thundered from the shattered sky like bolts of lightning, instantly disintegrating anyone they came in contact with.

I could only watch as all of my friends were hit by these beams as well, due to something attacking me and causing me to keel over in excruciating pain.

I could only watch as the city I called home collapsed into nothingness.

I could only watch as one of those beams came streaking for me as well.

...but then, I heard a voice.

"You will not fall to the darkness this day."

* * *

(Though the wheel of destiny constantly spins, one truth is always evident. A single human thought can change the world.)

 **The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
 _Ojamajo Doremi Zero  
_ **Story Created:** April 7th, 2017  
 **Story Rated:** _T for Teen_ (for action scenes, romantic moments, some harsh language, basically my usual fare)

 **Story Summary:** Back to zero, as it were. With just one simple act of defiance, the history of _Ojamajo Doremi_ has been thrown off the rails. Timelines have been changed, events have been altered, and Doremi and friends' history is on the verge of collapse. And as the only survivor of this tragedy, Nick may be their only hope of restoring what has passed. Now, Nick will set out with his new partner Histoire, an Oracle responsible for keeping history in check, to gather the pieces of his shattered history and discover who or what is behind this heinous act if he ever wishes to restore the life he once had...

 **Author's Notes and Explanations:** Here's an idea I've had on the backburner for a while. Funny story, this is another one of those that came to me in a dream (I have extremely weird dreams, people). In it, I was exploring a strange place alongside some of my real-life friends and being guided by Histoire from Hyperdimension Neptunia to go to each of the places we saw and fix something that wasn't supposed to be happening there (hence why she's reprising that role for this story). I know this kind of story has probably been done a lot before, but I just wanted to throw my own hat in that ring.

 **Theme Song Notes:** Since I can't post the opening and ending sequences anymore so as to not get my stuff axed, the opening theme for this story is "Toki no Mirage" by Yuiko Ohara (the opening theme to Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time), and the ending theme is "adrenaline!" by TrySail (the ending theme to Eromanga Sensei).

 **And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer** : I do not own anything related to Ojamajo Doremi, Hyperdimension Neptunia, or any of their affiliations. Ojamajo Doremi belongs to Toei Animation, and Hyperdimension Neptunia belongs to Compile Heart and Idea Factory International. The only things of it I DO own are any characters and places created by yours truly for the story. And I am not infringing on any copyrights. I'm just doing this for the entertainment of my readers. Besides, if I _did_ own Ojamajo Doremi or Hyperdimension Neptunia, which I _don't_ , why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

* * *

Episode 1: A Slip Through Time and Space

" _Can you hear me?"_

Hey, it's that voice again.

I tried to pick myself up as best I could. After all, that sneak attack really hurt...

...wait a minute. Sneak attack?

Hold on a minute, what just happened?!

I immediately go to summon my wand, only to find that, for some inexplicable reason, it won't come to my hand.

Okay, now I'm starting to get concerned.

"Do not worry. You are safe here."

All right, new question, then: where exactly _is_ 'here'?

I looked around, hoping to get some info from my surroundings. From what I can gather, I'm standing in some strange void where large, planet-like rings are revolving around a central 'sphere' of sorts. Ugh, I'm no good at describing backgrounds. The odd thing is, everything seems to be made of data, like a bunch of zeroes and ones you'd see in a computer system.

"What's going on here?!" I challenged.

I definitely didn't expect the answer to that question to come in the form of a girl who just floated down from the sky. From what I could tell, she had dull blue eyes and soft blonde hair with bangs curling both ways, with two longer curls reaching her chest and the rest of it worn in pigtails held by a pair of purple and gold ribbons. She was wearing a loose purple dress with spiked ruffle lining, gold accents and a loose green tie. To me, though, the most interesting thing about her was the two pairs of butterfly-esque wings popping out from her back.

"There is no need to be alarmed," the girl replied to me. "I promise, I mean you no harm."

"Then maybe you can answer a few questions I have," I replied.

"Follow me," the girl replied before floating off towards another nearby door. Figuring I didn't have anything to lose, I obliged and followed the girl through the doorway into a larger spherical area, where many other guys and girls with odd fairy wings were floating around, some of them stationed at computer consoles and looking through... what, exactly, I have no clue.

"Okay, this is a pretty slick setup," I admitted. "But you still haven't answered my question, miss. What exactly _is_ all of this?"

The girl stopped and turned around to face me, her sunny smile never wavering. "I am an Oracle, one of many tasked with correcting disruptions in the flow of history. My name is Histoire, Oracle 1st Class, and your new personal guide."

A question mark popped to life over my head. "Guide? To what?"

"You no doubt wish to restore what you have lost, correct?"

And just then, everything came rushing back to me. The strange light bursts that annihilated anything it touched, the sky literally shattering...

"Histoire? What exactly happened back there? Before you found me?"

Histoire sighed, as if she knew I wouldn't like what I was about to hear. And, in that, she was _definitely_ on the mark.

"Your history has been shattered," Histoire explained. "You see, as Oracles, it is our duty to oversee the flow of time, and make sure that it does not become corrupted. As you well know, Nick, the power of time travel is an extremely rare gift, granted only to a few select individuals that the Oracles allow to have such power."

"Because someone who can time travel can possibly mess up their timeline by popping back in time and screwing with things they shouldn't be, right?" I answered. "When I went back in time to fight Erika, you guys are who the queen and Majorin had to confer with, right?"

"Precisely," Histoire answered. "Improper use of time travel power eventually creates time disruptions that, if not fixed by an Oracle, can shatter the timeline in question, erasing everything and everyone in it."

And _there_ was the gut punch. Actually, it felt like someone had ripped my damn heart out.

"Thus, it is our duty to... Nick, what's wrong?"

"They're... they're all _gone_?"

I honestly didn't care how pathetic I sounded there. My voice might have cracked, but I didn't really care, just letting the implications sink in.

And finally, I couldn't control myself any longer, allowing the tears to fall and throwing myself into Histoire's arms. I knew there was no way to just 'go back in time' and fix this, because how can you go back in time if there _is no timeline_ left to travel through?

It seemed Histoire understood just how distressed I was, because she returned my desperate embrace and smiled.

"Nick, your timeline's erasure is by no means permanent," Histoire explained, quickly catching my attention. "Remember, my job as an Oracle is to fix any disruptions and restore shattered timelines to how they are supposed to be."

"W-wait... you mean we can actually fix this problem?"

"Precisely," Histoire replied. "Come with me, and I will show you how to regain what you have lost."

Drying my eyes for the moment, I let Histoire go and followed her through another glowing doorway to a large, arena-style room with many transporter-like devices arranged in a circle pattern. More of what I assumed were other Oracles and their officers were manning the computer stations.

"This place is our base of operations, the Oracle Sanctuary," Histoire continued. "From this room, the Oracles oversee the flow of time and pinpoint any disruptions. Normally, we would send our main officers to fix any anomalies, but in the case of restoring shattered timelines, an Oracle themselves is dispatched."

"Okay, but here's my main question, Histoire," I asked. "How exactly do we fix shattered timelines?"

"That's... the complicated part," Histoire stated, gesturing to one of the nearby monitors. "You see, Nick, every timeline that we oversee has what is called a 'Tome', a special construct that contains every bit of history that has been recorded in that timeline. The other duty of the Oracles is to record history in these Tomes, just in case something ever happens. That way, we can use the Tome to pinpoint what is wrong and fix the disruption."

Histoire then showed me one of the monitors, which was playing what seemed to be a video of another Oracle gathering strange shards of light.

"But when a timeline is shattered, so is its Tome," Histoire continued. "And when that happens, the Tome Fragments left behind are scattered to other timelines and left for us Oracles to gather. Only by reassembling each of a Tome's fragments can we rebuild that timeline and put everything back to the way it was."

"Why do I get the feeling it's not as easy as it sounds?" I quipped.

"Right again, Nick," Histoire replied. "The Tome Fragments possess great power on their own, and in the right hands, people can be empowered by them. But, such power is dangerous to anyone who has not received an Oracle's blessing. If handled improperly, the power of the Tome Fragments can turn people into monsters, leading them to indiscriminately destroy. Often, people corrupted into monsters by the Tome Fragments is the reason a timeline is shattered, because all these monsters know is to feast on the remains."

"Yeesh," I quipped. "And I thought Erika stealing souls was messed up."

"Regardless, that is our mission," Histoire proclaimed. "We must find the Tome Fragments of your timeline and restore it. Maybe then, we will find who has destroyed your history."

A loud, condescending scoff caught my attention. One of the Oracles at their station must have noticed our conversation, because she flew down from her post to glare kinda annoyingly at Histoire.

From what I could tell, this Oracle had long light green hair with a black and green ribbon tying part of it into a ponytail in the back. She had red eyes and was wearing a stylish black mini dress with black bows on both sides and long frills draping off the sides with a bright green coloring under them. Her butterfly wings, which I assumed every Oracle had, were shades of green and yellow.

"Histoire, must you really tell this human everything about our cause?" the new Oracle proclaimed. "I thought it was an unspoken rule that we _wouldn't do that anymore_."

"Chika, do you honestly expect me to believe that we should just let the only survivor of a timeline fall to despair?" Histoire shot right back. "That is exactly what I mean to _prevent_ when such a situation occurs."

"You don't get it, Histoire!" Chika growled. "Why do you _think_ we adopted that rule in the first place?! You _know_ what happened, you know _exactly_ what happened the last time someone outside our station knew of us!"

"Nick is not like her and you know it," Histoire challenged.

"Ugh, I should have known you'd pull this crap again," Chika proclaimed. "You're far too nice for your own good, Histoire."

I quickly shifted into a fighting stance when I saw Chika summon her weapon, a very long and _very, VERY_ sharp-looking double-edged spear. Ooh, I don't like where this is going.

"I will _not_ risk a repeat of what happened with _her_ ," Chika stated. "I do this with the interest of the Oracles and history itself in mind! I'll thrust this spear straight through you, boy, before you even _dream_ of messing with what you don't understand!"

 _ **~Chika Hakozaki : In-Your-Face Darling~**_

Okay, _that's it_. I flicked my right hand out, this time actually succeeding in summoning my wand and wasting no time in transforming it into Nenshou Hikari. "Oh, what, you wanna go?!" I challenged.

Chika yelled loudly before charging straight at me. I wasn't having _any_ of that, though, juking to the right to avoid that spear of hers before striking back with a quick three-swing combo. I took advantage of my opportunity and lashed out with an upward strike that slashed her spear in half.

I _definitely_ didn't expect Chika to take both halves of that spear and start dual-wielding them like she's freakin' Kirito or something. All of a sudden, I was on the defensive, trying to keep my distance from Chika's wild swings.

On one of those swings, I could actually _feel_ the spear's tip as it passed by me, just barely missing my chest.

"Stay in your spot so I can eviscerate you, boy!" Chika exclaimed.

"Chika, STOP!" Histoire proclaimed rather forcefully.

"Sorry, Histoire, but I'm not taking any chances!" Chika shot back, swinging overhead and actually catching me across the arm. "You _know_ what I lost!"

"Would she really want you to become a Dark Oracle over it?!" Histoire proclaimed. That actually seemed to get through to Chika and she stopped just in time, as that strike had been aiming for my heart.

"Yes, Chika, I understand what you lost, but you _know_ that she wouldn't approve of such meaningless bloodshed."

And Chika finally deflated, dropping to her knees and crying. Honestly, I felt bad for her.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Vert! I should have been there for you!" Chika wailed.

"Um... mind if I ask what's going on?" I wondered, hoping I wouldn't accidentally make the situation even worse.

Histoire looked ready to field that question, but, to my surprise, Chika was the one to do it, standing up and drying her tears for the moment.

"A... a Dark Oracle is what happens when one of us is tainted by the allure of darkness," Chika explained. I noticed she was trying desperately to hold herself together, as if the mere topic was a sensitive subject. "It is not a very common occurrence, but... but I..."

"Chika, don't," Histoire proclaimed. "You don't have to tear yourself apart over it..."

"I need to, Histoire," Chika replied. "I just want him to know what has happened. The first Dark Oracle to be born was also the one who destroyed the timeline I was tasked with observing. It was all because she trusted a human who was... well, less than trustful. She fell to her vices and embraced the power of darkness, and eventually became a Dark Oracle, using her newfound dark powers to destroy timelines at her whim. The worst part is... we have been so far unable to restore the timelines she's destroyed because she takes the Tome Fragments with her when she does so. It still haunts me that I was a mere second too late to save my beloved Vert..."

Once she finished her explanation, Chika finally lost it and started bawling again. I did the only thing I could think of in this kind of situation, and walked up and hugged her.

"I know how you feel, Chika," I stated. "I lost everyone I ever knew and loved when my timeline was destroyed. My girlfriend was one of those people. I would never wish the pain of losing a loved one on _anyone_ , not even my worst enemies. That's why I want to help you and the Oracles out in any way I can."

"I... I was just concerned that history was going to repeat itself," Chika admitted. "It _still_ hurts that I couldn't save Vert, and I didn't want to admit that I was hurting... can you ever forgive me?"

I reassured Chika by lightly 'booping' her on the forehead, something Hana had started doing recently as her personal sign of affection. Thankfully, she seemed to understand my meaning and smiled brightly.

"I'll do my best to assist you and Histoire however I am able," Chika proclaimed. "And if you ever find this Dark Oracle, I want you to do me a favor and smack her so far into next millennium, got it?"

"Will do," I responded.

"Well, Nick, shall we begin?" Histoire asked me.

"Wait, Histoire, I have one more question," I stated, realizing something I hadn't before now. "How are we supposed to know which Tome Fragments belong to _my_ specific timeline?"

Histoire gestured to the wide array of monitors that swept around this area. "We're in luck there, Nick, because with you, we can accurately track the energy given off by your time's specific Tome and narrow down which fragments belong to it. Normally, it's kind of a wild goose chase, since a destroyed timeline doesn't usually leave any survivors."

"Hey, yeah, that's another thing I wanted to ask," I quipped. "How _did_ I survive, if that's the case?"

Histoire smiled proudly, and I knew what her answer was going to be. "That would be me. Lately, we have been working on ways to detect the presence of the Dark Oracles so we may counter them if possible. I felt the strange vibrations and realized that another timeline was about to be destroyed. When I arrived to investigate, you were the only one left, so I pulled you to safety before you were destroyed as well. I do regret not being in time to save your friends, though..."

"We'll get them back," I proclaimed. "That much I know. And if I ever find this creep who shattered my timeline, I'm gonna do what Chika said and smack them so far into next..."

My ramblings were interrupted by the sounds of blaring alarms.

"What's going on?!" I shouted, instantly ready for action.

"We're detecting a set of Tome Fragments, Histoire!" Chika proclaimed, pointing towards her screen. "Well, Nick, it looks like it's time to see if you've got what it takes. You ready to set off?"

I grinned, summoning my weapon. "Just tell me where I need to go."

"Stand in the center of the room," Histoire proclaimed, and I did so as Chika typed in the coordinates for my destination. "And off we go."

I once again felt that strange feeling, like I was being disassembled atom by atom until I came back together somewhere else. When I could finally see again, I noticed that I was back in Misora.

Only... something didn't quite feel right. Like something was fundamentally wrong with what I was seeing.

I had to remind myself that this was most likely the Misora of an alternate timeline, so things were indeed going to be different.

"Well, I'm still in one piece," I quipped, checking my body to make sure nothing had gone wrong during the transport. I blame that stupid Star Trek episode and its teleporter accident. "That's a good sign. ...um, Histoire? If you're still with me, give me a sign?"

A little ball of light started floating around my head in response to that. I was tempted to swat it away until I saw the tell-tale sign of Histoire's butterfly wings popping out from it.

The light sphere slowed to a stop at about head-level with me and faded to reveal Histoire, though she was quite different. In this form, she was only about as big as, say, my hand, and looked completely different, now with her hair tied up in two pigtails by teal ribbon, and a purple and white headdress on her head. She was also wearing what seemed to be a purple graduate's gown decorated with orange designs and a teal bow at the top.

"Whoa, how'd you get so small, Histy?" I quipped, that nickname actually causing her to giggle. I guess she liked it.

"I often take this smaller form while searching through a timeline to avoid detection by hostile elements," Histoire explained.

"I know that feeling," I stated. "Okay, so, where should we start looking?"

"You most likely know this location better than I do," Histoire admitted. "Try searching through familiar places. I can usually detect a Tome Fragments from a fair distance, so I will inform you if I sense any."

"Roger that," I proclaimed as I set out into the place I called home.

I was so focused on my mission that I didn't even notice someone watching me from the shadows.

" _So, Histoire, you honestly think that this is going to change anything? I'd like to think you learned your lesson from me. Eh, guess we can't all be winners. Okay, enough of the stupid pontificating. Time for me to have some fun."_

I turned around the corner of a specific street, and sure enough, right there, on the edge of that street, was the original MAHO-dou. To be honest, I'd never seen it in its original form, as when my adventures with the girls started, the shop was known as the Flower Shop MAHO-dou. My favorite was always the Sweet House MAHO-dou, considering all the chances I'd gotten to work with Momoko...

...ack, Nick, don't get teary-eyed right now. I can cry and hug her forever when I get her and the rest of my friends back.

As I took a tentative step towards the MAHO-dou, I saw very familiar flashes of pink light through the window. Must be Doremi practicing her magic, and from some of the squeaks I heard from her, it wasn't going as well as she'd hoped.

Now, I knew Doremi had improved _significantly_ with her magic, but this must be a time when she had just started as a witch apprentice. Which meant that if anything decided to come after her, I should probably get my behind moving.

"Okay, Histy, I've got an idea," I quipped. "Are Tome Fragments attracted to anything in particular?"

"From what I've seen in my time, Tome Fragments are drawn to displays of strong magic," Histoire explained. "There are quite a number of feats they can perform if using an inanimate object as its host, for example."

I cast a glance at a very medieval-looking suit of armor at the corner of the shop. If I remember what the girls told me once, Doremi had accidentally brought that thing to life after flubbing a spell.

The strange thing, though? This event had happened alongside Hazuki and Aiko, from what I heard, and here, I only saw Doremi.

Could this be a timeline where she's the only apprentice Majorika took on?

"Yes, you are correct, Nick," Histoire proclaimed, flipping through the pages of a book. Is she reading my mind, or were my thoughts that obvious? "According to this timeline's Tome, your friend here was the only one to become a witch apprentice."

"Which means, if that's the only real thing that changed here, certain events coming up might not be enough for her to handle on her own," I quipped. "I hope this doesn't offend you or anything, but... can you do your best plushie impression for a bit? I don't wanna freak her out..."

Histoire just nodded, clutching onto my shoulder and going perfectly still. I walked up to the front door of the MAHO-dou and knocked twice, patiently waiting through the squeal that obviously meant Doremi must have used that spell.

About a minute or two later (obvious cleanup and all), the door swung open to reveal Doremi standing there with a cute smile on her face.

"Welcome to the MAHO-dou! How can we help you today?" Doremi asked.

I had to fight down that urge to hug her, because as much as I wanted to, this wasn't _my_ Doremi. So, I pushed that feeling down and started playing my role.

"I heard that this shop sells some really useful charms," I explained. "And I was looking for something..."

"Ah! Say no more," Doremi laughed, leading me into the shop. "I'm sure we've got what you're looking for!"

As I browsed all the adorable home-made charms, I kept my senses open for any possible sneak attack.

"Is there anything in particular you need help with?" Doremi asked me.

"Well, I _really_ like this girl in my class, but every time I try to tell her, I just clam up and chicken out," I explained. "I figure, maybe if I have something to boost my confidence a little..."

"Oh! We have just the thing!" Doremi giggled. "Who's the lucky lady?"

"Well, I've known her for a few years, but I just recently realized I was in love with her..."

As I regaled Doremi with tales of one of her future friends (whether she knew it or not)...

" _Okay. That'll do just fine. Time for my fun."_

"Hey, that plushie's adorable!" Doremi laughed, pointing towards Mini-Histy, as I liked to call her in this form.

"Yeah, she is," I admitted. "One of my friends sewed it for me. She's an amazing tailor, honestly."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something fly from the shadows and embed itself into that knight armor. I passed it off as my imagination until the armor began moving.

I believe that was my cue.

As the armor hefted its rather large blade ( _what exactly_ was Majorika thinking, keeping that kind of thing in a _magic shop_?!) and swung it towards Doremi, I was over there in a flash, summoning Nenshou Hikari to block the attack.

"Doremi, what did you do to that thing?!" Majorika exclaimed, flying in on her dustpan.

"Me?! Why are you blaming me for _this_ one?! You saw that spell miss it!" Doremi shouted. "And why are you out here right now?!"

"You two need to get somewhere safe!" I exclaimed. "This thing means business!"

Histoire suddenly abandoned her plushie act and floated off my shoulder, transforming back to her normal self in the process.

"What is it, Histoire?" I wondered. "Are you sensing a Tome Fragment?"

"Yes, inside that armor! That's why it came to life!" Histoire proclaimed.

"Um... d-did, did your plushie just come to life and grow?" Doremi asked.

"No time to explain right now," I quipped. "I need to take this thing down before it causes any more damage."

I turned around to face the armor, brandishing my weapon. "So you just bring it on, metal man."

 _ **~Metallic Armor Knight : Why Is It Here?!~**_

The armor took a few steps forward before slicing through the air with an overhead chop that I easily blocked, then countered with a rising slash that sent it reeling.

That didn't seem to stop this thing, however, as it quickly came back with a diagonal slash that cut through one of the display cases as it came for me. I lashed out with a quick swipe of my own to deflect that monster of a blade, then drew my free hand back.

"Here's hoping this still works. _The bow and string of a determined boy, take this! Ojamajo Arrow of Light!"_ I shouted, thrusting my free hand forward and watching in relief as a burst of emerald-green light erupted from my palm and struck the armor, causing it to crash backwards, right in front of the door that I assumed led to the Majokai.

And, to my surprise, the armor picked itself up and busted through that very door, through a tunnel of rainbow light. Oh, no way in _hell_ was I letting this thing do whatever it wants with the Majokai!

As I dashed through the tunnel in pursuit with Histoire following closely behind, I realized something else: normally, you can only go to the Majokai at night, right? It's the middle of the freakin' day!

I decided to just chalk it up to the whole 'alternate timeline' thing for the moment. Thinking about it for too long makes my head hurt, honestly.

Sure enough, after a few seconds through the tunnel, we came out in the Majokai's throne room. I kinda went flying through the tunnel, but I went into a roll as I hit the ground so I could keep my momentum and slash at the armor before it could make a move against the queen or Majorin.

"Histoire, how do I get the Tome Fragment out of this thing?!" I shouted, deflecting another slash from the armor.

Histoire focused, trying to find where exactly I needed to whack. "It's embedded in the back of its body!" Histoire proclaimed.

With that info in mind, I rushed towards the armor, dodging another strike so I could slide around to its backside. I raised Nenshou Hikari, its blade glowing brightly.

"Let's see how you like _this_ , metal man!" I growled, slashing five times at the back of the suit, each strike forming the shape of a star.

" _Brighter than the heavens! Mystic Arte: Extreme Stars!"_ I shouted, stabbing Nenshou Hikari straight through the center of the star I'd made, piercing through the armor and causing it to explode into many different parts.

Once the dust settled, I saw what appeared to be a glowing, curved piece of paper with ancient writing engraved on it floating where the armor had just been.

"Histy, is that...?" I wondered.

"Yes. That is a Tome Fragment," Histoire replied. "And yes, it is one from your timeline's Tome."

"Good. We're on our way, then," I quipped, taking the Tome Fragment and handing it over to Histoire. She probably knew what do to with it, after all.

It was just then that I realized that the queen and Majorin had seen everything that had just happened.

Before I could make a move to explain, however, Histoire floated up to the queen and nodded a couple times, the queen doing the same in response. At first, I was confused, but it quickly dawned on me that the Majokai must know about the Oracles, even in this alternate timeline.

I mean, that's what I'd do, after all, have a few contingency plans in case something goes belly-up.

"I guess we have to fess up now, huh?" I quipped once we'd returned to the MAHO-dou.

"Yeah, 'cause I'm seriously lost," Doremi replied.

"I can't explain much, but I will say that I'm on a mission," I explained. "I'm trying to find the things that made that armor come to life, because they're dangerous. You obviously saw what happened."

"We would very much appreciate it if you kept this a secret," Histoire continued. "The more people who know of our mission, the better chance they would have of sabotaging it."

"Oh, okay," Doremi quipped. "Na-i-sho, right?"

"Pretty much," I replied, unable to fight my smile at _that_ little thing we all used to do. "It'll just make it easier for us if this thing stays under wraps for a while. That way, we can find whoever's responsible for this and take 'em down without any more fuss."

Histoire waved her hand and opened a portal back to the Oracle Sanctuary, gesturing for me to walk in.

"Well, we gotta get going," I stated.

"Hey, will I ever see you again?" Doremi wondered.

I couldn't help myself; I walked up to Doremi and gave her a gentle pat on the head.

"You just may," I quipped before making my way into the portal.

" _Ooh, I should have known she'd be there to ruin my fun. My question is, who's that boy that fought off the armor? Eh, no matter. I'm gonna have to figure out something. Can't have this wacko ruining my plans before they've even started."_

* * *

"How'd the mission go, you two?" Chika asked once we'd returned.

"Tome Fragment get," I quipped. "But I'm pretty sure that's only the beginning of this crazy roller coaster ride."

"No kidding," another Oracle stated, jumping down from her station. This Oracle appeared to have short silver hair and cobalt blue eyes, and was wearing a black suit with a blue tie and black shorts instead of pants. Her butterfly wings were colored black and blue with silver linings. "If only you'd seen the last time we had to repair the damage a Dark Oracle did."

"It's not fun, I'll tell you that," Chika responded. "Do you have any updates, Kei?"

Kei, the silver-haired Oracle, nodded twice. "I'm still detecting more Tome Fragments in this timeline, but no sign of any Dark Oracles. The odd thing is, I'm detecting an Anchor there, too."

"Update, please? What's an 'Anchor', in this case?" I asked. This business got pretty complicated at times, I noticed.

"When it comes to alternate timelines that spawn thanks to other shattered timelines, usually, there's a Tome Fragment that keeps that timeline anchored. Without it, that timeline would cease to exist," Kei explained.

"Usually, it's because someone's holding that fragment," Chika continued. "You'd need to take back that fragment in order to undo the problem."

"Then I guess we're heading back," I proclaimed. "After all, I've still got friends to find."

"I would expect nothing less from you, Nick," Histoire giggled. "Let us make haste, then."

"Oracles, we're dispatching!" I proclaimed in a rather dramatic voice.

"ROGER!" many of the Oracles around us resounded. Guess they share my enthusiasm.

Before we could zap back to the timeline, however, I heard an odd voice getting louder by the second.

"Um..."

"MovemovemovemovemoveMOVEMOVEMOVEMOVEMOVE"

Before I could even ask what _that_ was about, a portal of pink light opened in front of me, and who else but Fami Harukaze herself came flying out, bowling me over in the process.

"Ouch..."

"I told you to move, silly," Fami giggled. "I can't control how fast this thing sends me through it."

Just then, the rest of my brain caught up to what I was seeing, and I snapped right back to my feet in shock.

"W-wait, Fami-chan, what's going on here?! How did you survive that?!" I exclaimed. "I thought you'd all been erased by those beam things!"

Fami just winked at me, her smile never fading. "I'm a time traveler myself, silly. I saw what happened to the others, and I saw one of them coming for me, so I popped out of that time before everything went belly-up. The only thing I _can't_ answer is how I'm still here, since I know the whole paradox rule..."

"Perhaps being here in the first place is protecting you from fading away," Histoire wondered. "After all, the Oracle Sanctuary technically exists outside of the time stream."

" _Outside_ of time?" Fami quipped. "I didn't think that was possible. Ah, well, just happy to be here!"

Fami turned around, gesturing to her still-open portal. "Oh, by the way, Kelly-kun, I brought some backup."

My expression quickly brightened when I saw Kirino walk out of the portal. "Whoa, what's with all the high-tech?" Kirino wondered even as I threw myself at her.

"Ack, easy, onii-chan!" Kirino exclaimed, even as she hugged me back. "I'm still here. You don't need to worry."

Histoire smiled at the exchange. _It seems I was right about him,_ Histoire thought.

"Shouldn't we get going?" Kei asked. "After all, you're the one who was so gung-ho about fixing your timeline?"

"Good idea," I stated, glancing back at Fami and Kirino. "I'll explain everything I know on the way. Time's _literally_ of the essence here."

Chika typed in the coordinates for us, and we were quickly zapped back to the timeline we'd just been to.

As we made our way through the tunnel of light, I saw flashes of all of my friends cheering me on, steeling my determination to find them again.

 _Don't worry, girls, I'm on my way,_ I thought. I reached out to Fami and Kirino, and they both took my hands as we approached our destination.

 _To be continued..._

* * *

Histoire waved to the camera, signaling that it was time to start.

"Hello, everybody, and welcome to Nepstation!" Histoire proclaimed once all of the required cameras were recording. "For those of you just joining us, this is a program where we talk about events and other things related to the story you just read. Normally, Neptune would be the one hosting this show, but since she is currently indisposed at the moment..."

"Hey, I'm not indisposed! I'm just off-screen!" Neptune's voice resounded from far-off.

"Despite what the story may have said about Neptune's timeline being erased, we can assure you that the Neptune you just heard has nothing to do with the story," Histoire stated. "We won't break the fourth wall _that_ much here. I hope..."

"Anyways, this particular incarnation of Nepstation is here to explain to any new viewers and readers some of the background information that may not be seen or expanded on in the main story," Nick explained. "Like, for example, what story my _Zero_ self comes from. You see, the author has been doing this kind of thing for a long time, over fifteen years. _FIFTEEN?!_ Holy crap, has it really been that long?"

"We should probably get back to the main topic," Histoire stated.

"Oops, sorry, just... memories," Nick sighed. "Anyways! My incarnation in _Ojamajo Doremi Zero_ comes from the author's first Ojamajo Doremi series (not the first story he did of the series, that's for later), _Ojamajo Doremi Diamond and Pearl_. More specifically, a new remixed version he started about five years later, _Ojamajo Doremi Diamond and Pearl: The Final Cut_! Yeah, the author likes to redo older stories of his now that he's better at it. I get what he's feeling. I can't stand looking at some of _my_ old work without wanting to redo it..."

"Here's a comparison of the beginning of that story, first from the original, and then from The Final Cut," Histoire stated, gesturing to the gigantic viewscreen to the left of the main Nepstation desk. "Let's see just how much the author has improved since then..."

 _ **~Original Diamond and Pearl, circa 2007~**_

 _Nick was thinking hard on his way home from school that Friday afternoon. Not too surprisingly, most of those thoughts were about Momoko. He found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake his thoughts off of the blonde American._

' _I guess my mind's been stuck on her ever since that day back in 4th grade,'_ _Nick thought. '_ _But when should I tell her about my feelings?'_

 _Nick took a look at his house, which was only a couple blocks away from Momoko's (and was in his sights). Suddenly, Nick made a decision._

' _I'll just meet up with my parents, and then I'll go tell Momoko how I feel about her.'_

 _His mind made up, Nick broke into a sprint, only a couple feet from the door._

" _Okaa-sama! Otou-san!_ _I'm home!"_

 _Nick chuckled a bit at that; even though he was living in America now, he still couldn't shake off calling his mom and dad "Okaa-sama" and "Otou-san" as he had back in Japan._

 _He opened the door, only to see his parents already waiting there for their son._

" _Hey, mom and dad! What's..."_

 _That was when Nick noticed the odd looks on his parents' faces. His dad's fist was even raised._

" _Um... is something wrong?"_

 _The next second, pain exploded through his entire body..._

 _...and then, there was nothing._

 _As Nick faded into unconsciousness, he heard one last voice, a girl's, shouting his name._

 _ **~Diamond and Pearl: The Final Cut, circa 2012~**_

 _Sixteen-year-old Nick Kelly was thinking hard on his way home from school. Something was on his mind, but he couldn't quite put a finger on what it was._

 _He brushed a bit of his spiky brown hair out of his face, his similar-colored eyes blinking a few times as he searched his mind for what was bothering him._

 _Nick often believed that trouble tended to find him no matter where he went, so he knew to stay alert when he felt that something was bothering him._

 _Every now and then, Nick's mind would flash back to the adventures he'd had with his best friends and fellow former witches._

 _Nick had met them for the first time at nine years old as an exchange student, quite literally bumping into Doremi on the way to gym class. The two had become fast friends, but when Doremi hastily excused herself from the class, Nick realized that something was up. After school that day, he'd discreetly followed Doremi to the Flower Shop MAHO-dou, meeting the other members of Doremi's group and baby Hana as well. Becoming quite taken with the cute little infant, Nick had spent the day there and helped the girls take care of Hana._

 _But when Majorika, the girl's mentor, had busted in and started talking about the Majokai (not even realizing that Nick was there), the proverbial gig had been up. Rather than freak out about the situation as Doremi had expected him to do, Nick had stayed calm and agreed to keep their secret if he could help out with Hana on occasion. After a conference with the queen, she'd agreed on the deal. Nick had been given magical powers like the girls, but tended to be more restricted on what he could do with his own magic, due to Aiko treating him more like a "magical slave" (Aiko's term and idea) than an actual apprentice. The girls had placated Nick with the fact that it was only to make sure he would keep his promise, one of Nick's defining traits being that he never broke a promise._

 _Nick's first shining moment came during the final battle between the Ojamajos and the FLAT 4. When Oyajide had attempted to use a powerful electricity attack to finish Hana off, Nick had stepped up to try and repel the attack, willing to face the consequences if it meant saving the life of the little baby he'd grown so enamored with. Thankfully, Nick's bravery had been rewarded by the queen after the battle by allowing him full access to his magical powers._

 _Nick also managed to come through when the former witch queen had possessed Momoko Asuka, a girl Nick was pretty sure he had a crush on, to bring Hana to the Cursed Forest. Nick had bravely stepped up to buy the queen valuable time, dueling the possessed Momoko until the queen could purge her of Majotourbillon's influence._

 _And when Doremi had locked herself in the MAHO-dou after graduating elementary school, Nick had helped Doremi come back out by reminding her of all the times they'd bonded with everyone, hoping that Doremi wouldn't throw it away._

 _After all had been said and done, he had accompanied Momoko back to New York with his own family, getting letters from the girls on occasion. (In one of the more memorable ones, Aiko had actually apologized for treating Nick like a "magical slave" so long ago. And everyone knew how tricky it was to get Aiko to apologize for something like that.)_

 _His mind snapping back to the present, Nick saw his house coming up quickly. Suddenly realizing what today was, he broke into a sprint._

" _I'd better not keep Momoko waiting," Nick stated to nobody in particular as he continued to run._

 _Nick always had a sleepover with Momoko for one weekend out of every month. This was due to a monthly trip that his parents had to take for their job (they both worked for a technology company just outside the city). When Nick had been younger, this trip had always left him in the care of a babysitter, or some of his other relatives as he grew up. But when he'd become better friends with Momoko, Nick's parents had allowed him to stay with the Asuka family when they went on their trip._

 _That time had come, basically. Nick's parents were getting ready for their trip, and Nick was on his way home to get his gear for the weekend. Nick was never very patient for anything. Most of the time, his impatience had led the Ojamajos straight into trouble, but Nick had always managed to get them out of it in the end. So, Nick liked to consider his impatience both a strength and a weakness._

 _After finally reaching the front door, Nick brushed some dust off of his clothes (the dirt road he usually tended to take as a shortcut home from school had been extra dusty today for some odd reason) and knocked twice on the front door._

" _Mom! Dad! I'm back!" Nick exclaimed, reaching for his key and heading inside. Then, he noticed something that seriously irked him: his parents hadn't responded to his call yet. Normally, whenever he called for his parents, they'd respond within five seconds. Now, nothing had happened for almost a minute, and Nick was starting to get worried._

" _Eh, they're probably getting ready for their trip," Nick noted, laughing softly to himself as he headed for his room._

 _But as he started up the stairs, some unseen force slammed into his stomach and sent him tumbling back to the ground floor._

" _All right, who's the wise guy?!" Nick shouted._

 _Nick quickly picked himself up, only for something to strike him in the back, causing him to crash back to the ground._

" _Okay, whoever's playing a joke on me, this isn't funny!" Nick shouted, instinctively going for his wand, only to realize that he didn't have it._

 _Unfortunately for Nick, that moment of distraction cost him dearly, as something hard impacted the back of his neck the very next second, instantly knocking the consciousness right out of him._

 _The last thing Nick saw as his vision closed down was a familiar figure approaching him._

"See?" Nick quipped. "Final Cut's much more descriptive, it's longer, and less cluttered. See what a few more years of experience will do for your writing skills?"

"It's kinda like what Felistella did with the Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth games!" Neptune exclaimed, hopping into camera view to wave to the viewers.

"Pretty much," Nick laughed. "Oh, nuts, I think we're out of time for this episode."

"Awww, it's over already?" Neptune groaned.

"Either way, we hope that everyone reading this enjoyed our first segment of Nepstation," Histoire proclaimed. "Please tune in again at the end of the next episode for more."

"We'll see you all then," Nick stated. "And we hope you enjoy the rest of _Ojamajo Doremi Zero_!"

"BYE-BYE!" Nick, Neptune, and Histoire all proclaimed at the same time.

* * *

On the next episode...

Nick: Well, we're off on another adventure. Have I ever mentioned how I hate that trouble always finds me?

Fami: It's kinda a given by now, Kelly-kun.

Kirino: After everything we've been through, onii-chan, I figured you'd be used to it.

Nick: That doesn't mean I have to like it, right?

Fami: Whoa, what's going on here?

Nick: Well, in this timeline, Doremi-chan's the only one who became a witch apprentice. And considering what I'm pretty sure is about to happen, she might need some help.

Fami: Oh, because of Onpu-chan, right?

Nick: Pretty much. Next time on _Ojamajo Doremi Zero_ , "The Wheels of Change"! Hope to see you there!


	2. The Wheels of Change

"Hey, Chika, you said something about an Anchor?" Kei proclaimed once Nick and his friends had set off on their mission. She and Chika were currently checking out the era they had set off to, just to be sure that nothing would go wrong. They'd learned their lesson from the last time a Dark Oracle had attacked.

"Someone in that timeline's holding an Anchor," Chika responded, double-checking the readouts. "This particular Anchor surfaced only recently, so it must be from Nick's timeline. Anchors usually only show up when a Dark Oracle attacks a timeline, after all. Maybe it's connected?"

Chika looked over to a nearby station. "What do you think, Mina?"

The woman at that specific station nodded, pressing a button on her command console to switch over to another timeline she was viewing. This Oracle was a tall woman, with long sky blue hair worn in low pigtails and topped off by a red graduate hat, cerulean eyes and red glasses. She was wearing a short white dress under a long, red robe (that resembled a jacket) with gold lining and buttons, the sleeves puffed below her elbow and long cuffs. By her neck while was a collar and red bow with a golden badge, and she also wore red heels that matched her robe and hat. Her particular Oracle wings were a mix of light blue and pink.

"I honestly would not rule anything out at this point," Mina Nishizawa responded. "The way the Dark Oracles operate, I would not put it past them to be capable of such treachery."

"Here's hoping this kid really is the 'all that' that Histoire believes him to be," Kei quipped.

"Lady Histoire has never steered us wrong before," Mina admitted. "I absolutely trust her judgment."

"Hey, Mina? You seem awfully calm about all this," Chika wondered.

"Do not let my calm demeanor deceive you," Mina answered. "I, too, wish to take revenge on this particular Dark Oracle who destroyed my timeline. But, I do not let it overwhelm me. I know I will see them someday."

"I really wish I had your confidence, Mina," Chika admitted. "I still wish I could have done something for Vert..."

"Yeah, if I find that sucker, I want to _personally_ smack 'em one for taking Noire and Uni from me!" Kei proclaimed.

"Blanc would most likely say the same thing to anyone who would dare hurt dear Rom and Ram," Mina stated.

Kei looked at the monitor as she watched Nick and Histoire, along with Fami and Kirino, arrive at their destination point. "And I'm sure Histoire misses Neptune and Nepgear, despite how lazy they are."

Chika just smiled, knowing that she might be able to see Vert again after all.

* * *

(Though the wheel of destiny constantly spins, one truth is always evident. A single human thought can change the world.)

 **The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
 _Ojamajo Doremi Zero  
_ **Story Created:** April 7th, 2017  
 **Story Rated:** _T for Teen_ (for action scenes, romantic moments, some harsh language, basically my usual fare)

 **Story Summary:** Back to zero, as it were. With just one simple act of defiance, the history of _Ojamajo Doremi_ has been thrown off the rails. Timelines have been changed, events have been altered, and Doremi and friends' history is on the verge of collapse. And as the only survivor of this tragedy, Nick may be their only hope of restoring what has passed. Now, Nick will set out with his new partner Histoire, an Oracle responsible for keeping history in check, to gather the pieces of his shattered history and discover who or what is behind this heinous act if he ever wishes to restore the life he once had...

 **On Today's Episode:** Nick and Histoire return to the timeline they were just in to find the Anchor Fragment that keeps this timeline together, and to Nick's surprise, it may be in the hands of this timeline's version of Onpu Segawa, who seemingly never turned to the Ojamajos' side. Despite her young age, Onpu is quite the tricky customer, boasting dark powers Nick knows she never had. Could this possibly be the work of the Dark Oracle?

 **Theme Song Notes:** Since I can't post the opening and ending sequences anymore so as to not get my stuff axed, the opening theme for this story is "Toki no Mirage" by Yuiko Ohara (the opening theme to Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time), and the ending theme is "adrenaline!" by TrySail (the ending theme to Eromanga Sensei).

 **And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer** : I do not own anything related to Ojamajo Doremi, Hyperdimension Neptunia, or any of their affiliations. Ojamajo Doremi belongs to Toei Animation, and Hyperdimension Neptunia belongs to Compile Heart and Idea Factory International. The only things of it I DO own are any characters and places created by yours truly for the story. And I am not infringing on any copyrights. I'm just doing this for the entertainment of my readers. Besides, if I _did_ own Ojamajo Doremi or Hyperdimension Neptunia, which I _don't_ , why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

* * *

Episode 2: The Wheels of Change

"Ah, home sweet home!" Fami proclaimed once we'd all leapt out of the portal and landed back by the MAHO-dou. "It's good to see this place again!"

"Um, Fami-chan, this isn't exactly the 'home sweet home' we all remember," I quipped. "We've got work to do, after all."

"Oh, I know that, Kelly-kun," Fami giggled. "Just wanted to take in the sights, after all. This timeline's gonna go poof once we find the Anchor, anyway, right?"

"Histoire said that as long as someone's holding the Anchor, that timeline can still keep going, right?" Kirino asked. "Who do you think could be holding it here?"

"That's what I'm hoping to find out," I stated. "Any sign of a Tome Fragment, Histoire?"

"I sense two somewhere in the main city," Histoire replied. "Let's get moving, everybody."

However, before we could even take two steps...

"Um, yeah, I don't think so, _buddy_."

And there go the alarm bells in my head. Just as I thought, if that's the only thing that changed in this timeline, then that means a certain someone I know is still working for a certain someone I knew back then.

I turned around slowly, just to make sure the face matched the voice.

Yep. It did.

It was Onpu Segawa herself, clad in her original witch uniform. And just to be sure, I looked at her wrist, and there was Majoruka's charm that absorbed all of the bad karma from her wishes.

And she was looking at me with a particularly nasty little smirk that I'd never seen on _my_ Onpu before.

I remembered that she was only like this until the end of the girls' first adventure, well before I'd met them, so I guess I'm glad I didn't have to see Onpu when she was so selfish.

"I heard from a little fairy birdie that you've been hanging around someone that Majoruka wants out of the picture," Onpu stated.

"Oh? And what of it?" I shot back, readying my wand just in case.

"I assume that she told you about me," Onpu stated. As she kept on blabbing, I noticed something hanging off of her other wrist.

Something I _know_ she's never had before.

It was a small crystal, no bigger than my index finger, hanging from a bracelet on her other wrist.

And it seemed Histoire figured it out before I did, because she turned to me with a slightly panicked expression on her face.

"Nick, that crystal is the Anchor we detected!" Histoire exclaimed.

"Oh, is that what it's called?" Onpu taunted. "Honestly, I don't care what it's called, just that it's given me the power I need to take Rika's wretched shop down once and for all. And I figure all of you are probably the perfect guinea pigs to test it out on."

Onpu brought out her Kururu Poron and flicked it to the side, and, to my shock, her whole body began shimmering with the unmistakable glow of dark magic.

"Okay, the Onpu-chan _I_ know _never_ used dark magic, even at her absolute worst!" I growled. "Sorry to say, this is where your crusade ends, little lady."

"Oh, _you're_ going to fight me?" Onpu laughed, readying her poron for battle. "Go ahead and do your worst!"

 _ **~Onpu Segawa : Misguided Magical Malady~**_

I obliged that request, jumping forward and leaping towards Onpu.

" _Sear with light, Nenshou Hikari!"_

Onpu gasped in surprise at that, giving me the chance I needed to slam the crystal blade into the ground and unleash a shockwave of light that pushed her back a few feet.

She didn't seem too jittered by it, though, jumping back and cutting a flip over my head, slashing at me with her Kururu Poron on the way down. I blocked the strike before lashing out with a right hook slash that knocked her away.

"Is that really all you've got?" Onpu taunted.

"Oh, I'm just getting started," I proclaimed, Nenshou Hikari's blade glowing brightly. "Now eat some of this! _Diamond Tempest!_ "

I swung my weapon hard and unleashed a wave of light that sent Onpu sprawling before leaping closer. With one precise slash, I severed the Anchor from her bracelet and watched it clatter to the ground.

I chanced a glance back up at Onpu...

...but the dark glow surrounding her hadn't faded in the slightest.

"Ooh, did I forget to tell you?" Onpu cackled, getting right back to her feet. "That crystal didn't give me my powers."

"Well, who was it, then?!" Kirino shouted.

"Sorry, not telling you," Onpu stated, retrieving the Anchor before I could make a move. "That would just spoil _all_ the fun, now wouldn't it?"

Onpu grinned evilly (ugh, that's so _unnerving_ , because I've never seen my Onpu do that) before tossing the Anchor into the air. To my surprise, something actually flew by and snatched it.

I managed to catch a glimpse of the figure, definitely a female, dressed up in armor very reminiscent of a Super Sentai warrior, with police adornments and even a large golden badge on her upper chest. She was flying through the air with a very futuristic jetpack and was aiming a triple-barreled laser cannon.

And worse, she was getting away with the Anchor!

"Hey, get back here, jerk!" Kirino exclaimed. "Come on, onii-chan, let's go after it!"

"Sorry I can't stay and play, boys, but I have some work to do," Onpu laughed before covering herself in a cocoon of darkness and vanishing.

I didn't waste any time in dashing off after the wanna-be cop, Histoire following closely behind.

The strange cop turned around once we'd caught up to it, eyeing us in slight confusion.

"Hmmm... the mistress did not say anything about you interfering," the cop sighed.

"Who exactly _are_ you?!" I shouted.

"Me, specifically? I am the Chrono Officer, the police and sheriff of the Chrono Chasers."

Histoire's eyes widened as she heard that name. _Chrono Chasers? No, it can't be... if so, then I know who attacked Nick's timeline..._

"Now prepare to be erased!" Chrono Officer shouted, and I immediately tensed up when I her point that gigantic laser cannon at me.

 _ **~Chrono Officer : You're Under Arrest! Yes, You!~**_

"Nick, hold on tight!" Histoire exclaimed, her body glowing as she rushed towards me. When she made contact, I, for some reason, felt her _merging_ with me, as if we were combining or something of that sort.

As Chrono Officer fired her weapon, sending three large laser bursts flying straight for me, I leaped into the air to avoid them, only for Chrono Officer to fire another barrage at me while I was in mid-leap. I knew there was no way I could dodge it, but I wanted to at least try _something_.

Then, I felt a strange force pushing me upwards and over the second laser barrage.

Wait.

Did I just do a freakin' _double jump_?! I thought that was something that only happens in video games!

I glanced behind me, and I saw that Histoire's Oracle wings were now sprouting from my back. Is that how I did it?

Well, I'm definitely not gonna complain as long as I get results out of it. Thank you, Histy, for saving my bacon yet again!

Chrono Officer definitely wasn't taking that lying down, however, and began rapid-firing laser blasts at me. I continued to leap in multiple directions thanks to Histoire's wings to avoid the blasts. As I saw the missed shots hit the ground and explode into chunks of concrete and stone, I quickly realized that I needed to end this fight before Misora gets too torn up... or worse, someone gets caught in this crossfire.

As Chrono Officer aimed her blaster at me, I stood my ground (while still running. Irony, eh?) and waited for the shot, hoping she'd take the bait.

Sure enough, she did, firing off a much larger barrage of lasers. A split second before they could hit me, I spread my arms out wide.

" _Santen kesshun, I reject!"_ I shouted, a wide field of light appearing in front of me. The laser blasts impacted the shield and bounced right back to their owner, exploding in her face and causing her to stumble, actually dipping low enough for me to get an attack in.

I pressed my advantage, double jumping towards Chrono Officer and landing about three clean slashes before finishing with a vertical spin attack. Chrono Officer simply redoubled her efforts and took off towards a very familiar building – Misora First Elementary!

Oh, I don't think so, buddy.

I followed as quickly as I could, even leaping forwards after Chrono Officer fired a burst of lasers at the outer wall, punching a large hole straight through to the gym. I dove through the falling rubble, slashing through pieces where I had to, and eventually planted myself right in front of Chrono Officer, despite the shrieks of terror from all the students that were seated in the bleachers.

"You know that you're going to be erased," Chrono Officer proclaimed. "So why don't you just give up and spare yourself the pain?"

"After what I've lost? _Hell no_!" I shot right back. "I've come way too far to just give up! So why don't you just shove that oversized cannon cracker right back down your throat and do us all a favor?!"

I didn't give Chrono Officer a chance to respond, jumping away from more laser shots and getting close enough to deal the finishing blow.

I swung upwards, severing her laser cannon in half, before moving in for the kill. I started with a quick downward slash to stagger Chrono Officer before slashing five times at her body, each strike forming the shape of a star.

" _Brighter than the heavens! Mystic Arte: Extreme Stars!"_ I shouted, stabbing Nenshou Hikari straight through the center of the star I'd made and dealing the final blow, causing Chrono Officer to bellow in disbelief before disintegrating in a flash of blue light.

Once Chrono Officer was gone, the Anchor dropped to the floor, completely untouched. I made a move to grab it and beat it out of here, only to be thrown back towards the bleachers by a wave of darkness. Once I'd picked myself up, I glanced towards who else but Onpu, still surrounded by that aura of darkness and clutching the Anchor in her hands.

"Wait, is that Onpu Segawa?" someone in the crowd gasped. "The famous child idol? I didn't know she went to this school!"

"Wait, why is she glowing?" another student asked.

"Ugh, how many times do I have to stomp you before you leave me alone?!" I growled, readying Nenshou Hikari for another battle.

"You clearly do not understand the forces you are playing with!" Histoire exclaimed, separating from me to deliver her message. "The Anchor is extremely dangerous in the hands of someone who is not..."

"Blah, blah, blah, I'm _sick_ of the cliché speeches," Onpu groaned. "I _know_ that this power is dangerous. That's what makes it so fun to use it when I don't suffer any consequences of forbidden magic!"

Onpu then tossed the Anchor into the air and readied her Kururu Poron. "And speaking of which..."

Onpu chanted her magic words, and tendrils of darkness burst from her Kururu Poron to surround the Anchor, forming a bubble around it that eventually formed into the shape of, and I'm not freakin' kidding here, a _gigantic frickin' dragon_.

This is just not my day, is it?

"Have fun, kid!" Onpu shouted, laughing like every cliché villain ever. I half expected her to vanish and leave me to fight this giant dragon thing, but just then...

"Sorry, kid. I've decided that your services are... well, no longer needed."

Onpu jerked her gaze upwards, and my own eyes followed. Floating there was what _appeared_ to be another Oracle, but my instincts told me something was different about her. She was a pale, tan-skinned girl with bright blue eyes and choppy, platinum blonde hair held up by black and red ear pieces. She was wearing a black dress with silver and red accents, a crimson ribbon tied around her right wrist, and a cape that was attached to her top by a big pink orb in the center with two smaller pink orbs below her shoulders. Her Oracle wings were purple and blue and gradient themed.

The most obvious thing I noticed about her, though, was the glow of darkness surrounding her. The same darkness that Onpu was using, if I remember correctly.

Histoire quickly tensed up once she'd laid eyes on this new arrival. "And what, pray tell, are _you_ doing here, Croire?!" Histoire shouted.

"Oh, Wonderwings, I thought you knew me better than that," Croire cackled. "I'm just having my fun. Is a girl not allowed to have fun?"

"Not when your 'fun' involves destroying history!" Histoire countered. "How long are you going to keep walking this path of darkness?!"

"As long as it amuses me, obviously!" Croire replied.

Just then, something clicked in my mind. I slowly raised Nenshou Hikari towards Croire as I realized it.

"You're a Dark Oracle," I proclaimed. "More _specifically_ , you're the one that destroyed _my_ timeline, am I right?!"

"Nice to see that you catch on quickly, eh?" Croire laughed.

"Don't you _dare_ insult me, you little bitch!" I shouted, readying an attack.

"Hey, I'm not here to fight you right now. Rest assured, you'll get a piece of me eventually," Croire stated. "I'm just here to shake things up a bit. That's kinda what I do, right?"

Croire raised her hands and cast a strange spell that caused streams of darkness to erupt from her hands and surround Onpu with a sphere of darkness.

"Hey, hey, what's the big idea?!" Onpu shouted. "We had a deal, didn't we?!"

"Sorry, girlie, but maybe this'll teach you that I'm not to be trusted," Croire laughed. "I'm only in it for my own amusement, after all."

Croire snapped her fingers, and the dragon that Onpu had summoned marched over, and to my horror, snapped its jaws shut over Onpu.

"Hope you'll give the crowd a good show, kid," Croire cackled. "As for me, I'm gonna fly back and observe the fun. Hasta la bye-bye, suckers!"

Croire flapped her wings and disappeared just as the Ruined Dragon roared loudly, causing the crowd behind me to start panicking.

"Everyone, just get somewhere safe!" I shouted to the crowd. "I'll handle this thing!"

"You heard the guy! EVERYBODY OUT!" the unmistakable voice of Aiko Senoo herself resounded as she began herding the students towards the nearest exit so I could deal with the dragon.

I readied my weapon as Histoire merged with me once more. "All right, dragon boy, let's dance."

 _ **~The Ruined Dragon : Dark and Draconic Danger~**_

The Ruined Dragon roared in challenge, snapping its head down to breathe a stream of flames at me. I made it a quick point to leap over the flames (you know, since I can _double jump_ with Histy's help. It's still odd to me, okay?) and slash at the Ruined Dragon's horn a few times, hoping to do some damage.

Sadly, that didn't seem to do much if anything, as the Ruined Dragon swung its horned head at me, sending me crashing back to the court.

"Ouch... I forgot how sturdy these things are... you okay, Histy?" I asked once I'd gotten back to my feet. "I don't know if that hurt you, too..."

" _I'll be fine,"_ Histoire's voice resounded in my mind. _"I've been through far worse, honestly."_

"First things first, we need to get Onpu-chan out of that thing," I quipped. One thing I noticed before the Ruined Dragon had attacked was that when it opened its mouth to breathe fire, I saw Onpu still in there, held prisoner in that dark sphere. I think it's drawing on the dark power that Onpu was using, so if we can free her from the dragon, it should be easy peasy to finish it off.

The Ruined Dragon interrupted my train of thought by leaping into the air and coming back down so hard it shattered a good chunk of the court around it, also creating a shockwave that I had to leap over to get another shot at its horn.

"Jeez, onii-chan, you run way too fast..." Kirino gasped, having just arrived through the hole Chrono Officer had made in the wall, with Fami just behind her. "You really didn't have to _HOLY CRAP!_ "

That last had been brought on by Kirino diving away from a pair of eye lasers the Ruined Dragon had fired at her.

"Okay, not nice, freak-o!" Kirino growled, bringing out her Jewel Tap. I didn't think she still had it, honestly! _"This is the vivid imagination of the beautiful dreamer! Ojamajo Kirino, transform!"_

Kirino flicked her hands out, and bronze music notes spiraled around her to form her gloves. She leaped into the air, cutting a few stylish flips that formed the boots, then landed and flashed a peace sign, this materializing the main body of her uniform. She placed her Jewel Tap onto the center of her uniform, then tapped it twice to produce her witch hat. Her transformation complete, Kirino did a quick roundhouse kick before putting two fingers to her forehead, much like I would, and flashing another peace sign.

" _The dreamy bronze, Kirino-chi!"_

Kirino dashed onto the court, slamming her palms together just as the Ruined Dragon charged towards us.

"Za warudo, dragon breath! _TIME BREAK!_ " Kirino exclaimed, drawing her hands back and clapping them together, the clap echoing all around as the world around us turned monochrome, freezing time for everybody but myself, Kirino, Fami, and Histoire.

I reached behind me, and to my surprise, my own Jewel Tap materialized in my hand. "All right, let's even the odds a little. _I say 'bring it on'! Mahoutsukai Nick, transform!_ "

I lashed out with a left hook, then a right-handed uppercut to form my gloves. I quickly did a spin before landing with a snap kick, this forming the body of my uniform. I followed this up with a few roundhouse kicks to form my boots. After retrieving my witch hat, I did one more jumping spin before putting two fingers on my left hand to my forehead and throwing out my right hand.

" _The sparkling diamond, Kelly-chi!"_

"Hit 'em hard, onii-chan!" Kirino exclaimed. I nodded, leaping towards the Ruined Dragon and slashing at the sphere of darkness holding Onpu hostage as many times as I could before Time Break came undone and restarted time around us.

The Ruined Dragon roared in pain and backed up a few steps before raising its head and causing multiple bolts of lightning to rain down on me.

" _Heart of Wind!"_ Fami shouted, dashing forward so fast that it made her look like she was teleporting to push me away from the lightning barrage.

"Thanks for the save, Fami-chan," I quipped.

"Anything for my best friend!" Fami giggled. "Now what say we finish this thing off?"

"You read my mind," I replied, moving in and double jumping over another shockwave, giving me the perfect vantage point to thrust Nenshou Hikari and pierce through the bubble of darkness holding Onpu hostage, causing it to shatter.

I quickly jumped into the maw of the beast to catch Onpu's unconscious body before jumping right back out to avoid getting eaten myself. I gently set Onpu down on the court and turned my attention back to the Ruined Dragon.

"Time's up for you, dragon boy," I proclaimed, rushing in to end it. I started with a quick downward slash to stun the Ruined Dragon before slashing five times at its body, each strike forming the shape of a star.

" _Brighter than the heavens! Mystic Arte: Extreme Stars!"_ I shouted, stabbing Nenshou Hikari straight through the center of the star I'd made.

Problem? The Ruined Dragon didn't explode or disintegrate like I thought it would. Luckily for me, it was still stunned, but for how much longer, I don't know.

"What the hell? That should have ended it!" I shouted.

"I have something you can try, Nick," Histoire answered, separating from me and handing me a glowing crystal. "This is for a special attack that we normally use in the timeline we came from. It is similar in concept, honestly."

I took the crystal and clenched my fist, shattering the crystal and letting its power absorb into my body.

"Now, strike!" Histoire exclaimed.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," I quipped.

 **("Glimmering Gift" by Tee Lopes plays)**

The Ruined Dragon tried to snap its jaws at me after breaking out of its stun, but I quickly shut it up with a powerful horizontal slash, driving it back to the ground so I could make my move.

" _O brilliant blade of coldest steel!"_ I chanted as I began to teleport around the Ruined Dragon multiple times, slashing at it with each jump.

" _Rend the infinite darkness, and crush my enemies to nothing!"_ I shouted, teleporting and attacking faster and faster with each jump until I was nothing but a blur of sword slashes.

" _EXE Drive: Savage Wolf Fury!"_ I exclaimed, taking a step back and flashing forward so fast that Fami and Kirino only saw me slash through the Ruined Dragon's body before I reappeared on the other side of it. That final slash took about two seconds to register, but it basically cleaved the Ruined Dragon horizontally in half when it did register, causing it to explode in a rather violent and spectacular explosion. I didn't pay it a second thought (after all, don't they say that cool guys don't look at explosions?)

Once the area was calm again, all that remained of the dragon was the Anchor it had absorbed, which clattered to the wrecked court.

"And that's that," I quipped, walking over to pick up the Anchor.

"Ugh, my head..." Onpu groaned, having just now regained consciousness. "What just happened?"

"Croire played you for a fool," I responded.

"I was right, then," Histoire proclaimed. "Croire is the Dark Oracle that is responsible for all of our troubles."

"You sounded like you had some kinda history with her," I noted.

Histoire sighed heavily, looking to confirm my suspicions. "It's... complicated."

Before I could ask about specifics, a rather powerful tremor suddenly began to rock the area, causing the already damaged roof of the gym to collapse and reveal the sky...

...which was shattering like glass.

Just like what happened to my timeline!

"Oh, that can't be good," Kirino stated.

"The timeline is being ripped apart!" Histoire exclaimed. "We need to leave right now!"

I didn't get a chance to gather my thoughts, because I saw one of those light beams streaking down from the sky straight for me, just like before.

" _Pururun purun famifami fa!"_

Onpu suddenly rushed in front of me, holding up her Kururu Poron and chanting her magic words to create a barrier of darkness that stopped the light streak in its tracks.

"You all need to get out of here!" Onpu shouted. "This could be your only chance!"

And there's the Onpu I remember. Even at her worst, she still shows moments of the warm heart I knew she always had.

"Thanks, Onpu-chan. All right, Histy, get us out of here!" I exclaimed as most of the surrounding area just collapsed in on itself, as if reality itself was crumbling around us.

"Chika, return us to the Oracle Sanctuary _immediately!_ " Histoire shouted into her communicator earpiece.

A bright column of light surrounded all four of us, warping us out of that timeline just in, well, time. Ugh, I'm not gonna be subconsciously making time puns this whole adventure, am I?

When I finally trusted myself to open my eyes again, I sighed in relief to see all four of us safely back in the Oracle Sanctuary.

"Mission complete, everybody!" Fami proclaimed. "We have returned with an Anchor Fragment in tow!"

"This time travel business is pretty nuts," Kirino sighed. "Now I know what Nick went through when Erika jumped back in time."

"Are you guys okay? What _happened_ in there?!" Chika exclaimed once we'd all gotten our bearings back. "We were getting really strange energy readings from that timeline before it disappeared!"

"The Dark Oracle has struck again," Histoire explained. "And one of her minions was a Chrono Chaser."

Kei gasped in shock. "Wait, the Chrono Chasers?! Then, that could only mean..."

"Yes. Croire is the one who is responsible for destroying Nick's timeline," Histoire continued.

"Ooh, I really wanted to get my hands on her!" Chika growled. "She's the one who destroyed our timelines as well! _She's_ the reason I can't see my beloved Vert anymore!"

"She has destroyed _another_ timeline?" Mina asked.

"She must have found the Tome while we were busy fighting that dragon thing," I realized. "Good side to this, though, we found an Anchor. Hopefully that means we're getting that much closer to restoring my timeline."

"We still have a ways to go before we can restore your world's Tome," Mina proclaimed. "After all, we still have no real lead as to where most of the fragments scattered."

"Didn't Histoire say that because Nick's here, we can check to make sure they're specifically from his timeline?" Kei asked.

"That's probably how we found the Anchor," I quipped. "It's worth a shot, right?"

"All right, guys, let's keep checking until we find something!" Kei exclaimed, and the three Oracles went back to their stations.

As they did so, I couldn't help but notice Histoire's expression. She had already said something about having a complicated history with Croire, and you know me and my curiosity...

Histoire turned around and looked at me. Yeah, she must have seen me.

"Histy?" I asked, hoping I wasn't overstepping any boundaries.

"It was... a long time ago," Histoire stated. "Croire, as you can probably guess, was once an Oracle like me. We were very close during our tenure as Oracles, almost like sisters at our best. Then, Croire was tempted by a powerful dark mage in one of the timelines we were patrolling."

Histoire sighed again, remembering the events of so long ago as if they had merely been yesterday. And since Chika had told me that Oracles don't really... well, age, due to all the exposure they have to temporal power, I'd believe it if that's what she was actually feeling.

"Croire had always been... easily tempted. It was mostly in trivial things, but when offered such power, it was nearly impossible for her to resist. You can imagine our horror when we came back to patrol that particular timeline again and found nothing but the void it had left behind. At first, we weren't sure if it was just a simple case of abusing the power of time travel, but when Croire appeared, talking like she had been driven insane by the power she now wielded... it was disconcerting, to say nothing of her power itself."

Histoire looked up towards the sky of the Oracle Sanctuary. "We have done everything we can to limit the damage she causes, but Croire seems to be growing stronger with each timeline she destroys. She keeps the Tome Fragments she gathers for her own personal reasons, most likely to absorb and use their power. Croire is the most troublesome of the Dark Oracles we've ever faced, and... there are often times when I wish we could just go back to how we used to be..."

I absorbed the information Histoire had given me, trying to imagine the two of them trading friendly jabs back and forth like siblings would do, like Kirino and I do every now and then, even picturing something that Kirino and I had done together as children, but with Histoire and Croire instead.

It's a surprisingly effective mental image, don't you know.

"Though even now, I fear that Croire may be too far gone to be saved..."

Histoire definitely seemed surprised when I stepped over and gave her a hug.

"Histy, one of the things that defines me is that I always, _always_ believe that it's _never_ too late to save someone," I stated. "How else do you think I got Erika to turn to our side? I promise you, Histy, I'll do anything I can to make Croire see the light again. It's the _least_ I can do after what you're all doing for me."

Histoire smiled, turning around and hugging me right back. "Thank you, Nick."

"Hey, onii-chan! There'll be time to hug the fairy later! We get signal on some Tome Fragments!" Kirino exclaimed.

I looked up at the giant viewscreen and saw what appeared to be a newspaper studio (and a rather gigantic and fancy one, at that) in the middle of a bustling city.

"Any Anchors?" I wondered.

"None detected yet, but we'll keep looking," Mina responded.

"You and Histy can tackle this one, okay, Kelly-kun?" Fami proclaimed. "Kirino-chan and I are gonna help the Oracles out, see if we can't find this Croire character a little sooner."

"We figure you guys will need all the help you can get when it comes to these Dark Oracles," Kirino admitted. "They sound like nasty business!"

"All right, then," I proclaimed, Histoire and I stepping onto the transport pad. "Oracles, we're dispatching!"

"ROGER!" everyone shouted as we vanished in a flash of light.

We'd been through some pretty crazy things already, but I knew for a fact that this adventure of ours was only beginning.

 _To be continued..._

* * *

Nick was the one to check the cameras this time, making sure everything was up to code before they started.

"Now I remember why I don't work in television," Nick quipped. "It's so much work..."

"Ah, that's just life," Neptune giggled. "You take what you got and run with it!"

"Well said, Nep," Nick stated, snapping to attention when he got the go-ahead from the cameraman. "Hey, everyone, welcome back to Nepstation, the program where we talk about stuff related to the story you've been reading! Histy's out checking on the Tomes we've been fixing, so it's just me and Neptune for this segment."

"I honestly hope I get to show up sometime in this story," Neptune sighed. "I really wanna show off my awesomeness as a protagonist!"

"Just keep on watching, Nep," Nick replied. "Obviously, I'm not gonna spoil anything, as it's really up to the author. I'm sure you'll get your chance to shine soon enough."

"Good enough for me!" Neptune stated. "Anyways, what's today's topic?"

"Hmmm..." Nick realized that they didn't really have anything specific to talk about.

"Hey, what about that orange-haired girl that showed up?" Neptune noted. "I noticed that she wasn't in a lot of the author's old stories..."

"Oh, you mean my sister Kirino?" Nick gasped. "Yeah, that'd be a good idea, since I don't know how many of the author's old stories people have read before this. They'd probably be wondering 'whoa whoa when did Nick have a sister blah blah blah' or something. Okay, put her up on the screen, video dudes!"

The viewscreen cut to a full-body photo of Kirino Kelly, Nick's younger sister.

"There's my sis," Nick quipped. "Kirino's about thirteen going on fourteen in this one, since I'm sixteen in this story. And yes, her hair is a natural color, for anyone asking. It's anime, don't question the logic."

"According to my super-cool deduction skills, Kirino showed up for the first time in Diamond and Pearl: The Final Cut in episode seven, 'A Younger Sibling's Trust! Little Sister Kirino Springs Into Action!', right?" Neptune stated.

"Right-o, Nep!" Nick replied. "She had finally come home from a little vacation in Hawaii with our grandparents, just a few days after our adventure began, and she found herself zapped over to Misora just in time to help us out in another skirmish with Erika."

"I could totally take her on, by the way," Neptune laughed. "Two keyblades or not, I'd Nep-Nep her up with my protag powers!"

"Neptune, we're not gonna break the fourth wall every two seconds, are we?" Nick quipped. "You know how Histy got on your case in our last take, right?"

"Such is my life as a protagonist," Neptune noted.

"Anyway," Nick stated. "Kirino's pretty sleuth-y for her age, considering how she wants to be a detective when she's older. I can't count how many times I've seen her parked in front of the TV watching old Detective Conan and Sherlock Holmes movies. Those things are classic."

"She also likes to hug people a lot, doesn't she?" Neptune stated.

"Yeah, she's a firm believer in giving hugs to people who 'really look like they need one', in Kirino's own words," Nick explained.

"She and P-ko would get along very well," Neptune quipped. "Little buster _loves_ hugs!"

"Hey, didn't Kirino get her own story arc later on in the show?" Neptune wondered.

"Yeah, but it's not up on the author's page yet, since he had to get a new one after... shall we say, 'issues'," Nick quipped. "That'll be showing up soon, so keep an eye out!"

"Aw, man, we're out of time again," Neptune groaned. "I didn't realize it's been that long since we started!"

"Time always tends to fly, Nep," Nick quipped. "It's a fact of life. Well, folks, that's it for today's Nepstation. We'll see you on the next one!"

"See ya later!" Neptune laughed.

* * *

On the next episode...

Nick: Well, we're in a newspaper studio this time, huh? I have a feeling I know which one of my friends I'll be running into this time.

Fami: Hey, Hazuki-chan did say she wanted to give being a reporter a try, right?

Kirino: Kinda like how I want to be a detective someday. Ooh, I wonder if we'll see a timeline where I actually am a detective? That'd be awesome!

Nick: Back in the here and now, I kinda want to sucker punch this jerk who keeps bossing Hazuki-chan around.

Fami: Even if he actually _is_ Hazuki-chan's boss in this timeline?

Nick: That _still_ doesn't give him the right to be a complete jerk-off!

Histoire: You seem to have experience with these types of people.

Nick: Oh, Histy, you'd be surprised.

Histoire: Next time on _Ojamajo Doremi Zero_ , "Tabloids and Other Popular Jargon"! We hope to see you there!


	3. Tabloids and Other Popular Jargon

"Huh? What was that?" Hazuki Fujiwara wondered as she turned towards the direction of the strange noise. She clutched her camera as she began to jog towards the disturbance.

At the ripe age of twenty-four, Hazuki still couldn't believe she was living her dream of being a reporter, covering all of this city's biggest scoops and stories.

Even if some... rather _strange_ things had been happening lately. Lots of people had reported sightings of extremely bizarre structures and figures looking like, in the words of one person, "reality had glitched". But when the proper authorities showed up to investigate, the odd sightings had vanished, as if they'd never been there in the first place.

At least most of the people who'd seen them hadn't been just written off as loonies, since many of them had actually had the common sense to take pictures of the strange happenings.

Hazuki skidded to a stop once she saw it. It was the fountain in the park plaza, but with its structure extremely warped and glowing a dark shade of red, just like all the previous sightings.

Not wanting to waste a second, Hazuki raised her camera, adjusted her settings, and snapped a picture of the odd sight.

"Maybe that's what the noise was," Hazuki thought. "It must be from whatever's causing... well, _this_."

Her evidence gathered, Hazuki sat down on a nearby bench so she could plug her camera into her laptop and send the photo to her boss back at the studio.

 _Boss, I found another strange 'reality glitch'. Sending you photo evidence now. Let's meet up back at the studio and discuss what we're going to do._

After sending the message, Hazuki closed her laptop and began to make the trek back to the studio.

Hopefully her boss was in a better mood. Especially after what that other reporter had done.

Hazuki knew never to set her boss off, because when it happened, the results would never be pretty.

But, the one question Hazuki still wanted an answer to, much like everyone in the city, was...

"Who or what's responsible for all of this?" Hazuki asked herself. "And why are they doing it?"

She knew she wouldn't get an answer from herself, but it never hurt to try.

* * *

(Though the wheel of destiny constantly spins, one truth is always evident. A single human thought can change the world.)

 **The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
 _Ojamajo Doremi Zero  
_ **Story Created:** April 7th, 2017  
 **Story Rated:** _T for Teen_ (for action scenes, romantic moments, some harsh language, basically my usual fare)

 **Story Summary:** Back to zero, as it were. With just one simple act of defiance, the history of _Ojamajo Doremi_ has been thrown off the rails. Timelines have been changed, events have been altered, and Doremi and friends' history is on the verge of collapse. And as the only survivor of this tragedy, Nick may be their only hope of restoring what has passed. Now, Nick will set out with his new partner Histoire, an Oracle responsible for keeping history in check, to gather the pieces of his shattered history and discover who or what is behind this heinous act if he ever wishes to restore the life he once had...

 **On Today's Episode:** Nick and Histoire arrive at their next destination, a timeline where Hazuki attained her dream of being a famous reporter. However, her boss seems adamant about putting her down, no matter who he has to go through to do so. On top of this, strange instances of "glitching reality" are popping up all over the city. Is Croire somehow connected to this?

 **Theme Song Notes:** Since I can't post the opening and ending sequences anymore so as to not get my stuff axed, the opening theme for this story is "Toki no Mirage" by Yuiko Ohara (the opening theme to Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time), and the ending theme is "adrenaline!" by TrySail (the ending theme to Eromanga Sensei).

 **And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer** : I do not own anything related to Ojamajo Doremi, Hyperdimension Neptunia, or any of their affiliations. Ojamajo Doremi belongs to Toei Animation, and Hyperdimension Neptunia belongs to Compile Heart and Idea Factory International. The only things of it I DO own are any characters and places created by yours truly for the story. And I am not infringing on any copyrights. I'm just doing this for the entertainment of my readers. Besides, if I _did_ own Ojamajo Doremi or Hyperdimension Neptunia, which I _don't_ , why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

* * *

Episode 3: Tabloids and Other Popular Jargon

You know, I normally expected newspaper studios to be rather low-key, based on the ones I've seen (that is, only about two or three of them).

Well, this one practically blew all my expectations out of the freakin' water. This place is GIGANTIC!

Not to mention all of the advanced technology I see whichever way I look! Man, this place is nuts.

"Talk about going above and beyond," I quipped. "Are we in the future here, Histy?"

Histoire, as Mini-Histy, reached out to summon her guidebook that told her about our current timeline.

"Okay, according to my guide, in this timeline, we are currently in the year 2019," Histoire explained.

"Wow, we're like, a good eleven or twelve years ahead of my timeline," I quipped. "That's quite the leap. So, I guess it makes sense that this studio's so far advanced."

There were even a bunch of garden-like areas mixed in with the computer stations and printing presses. I'm gonna be honest, I think this is my favorite newspaper studio in the history of EVER. (And considering I've only seen two before this, that's saying a lot.)

"Do you sense any Tome Fragments here, Histy?" I asked.

"Two on the upper levels," Histoire responded. "No sign of an Anchor yet, though."

"Okay, now for another question," I stated. "How do we find places to look? Because I know _nothing_ about this place, and I don't want security to think I'm a creepy stalker. _That_ would _definitely_ not end well..."

I turned back around, thinking to check if this place had a directory of sorts, only to crash right into someone.

As she fell down, I saw a laptop flying upwards, no doubt hers, and rushed over to catch it before it could hit the ground and break into pieces.

"Oof, close call," I sighed. "You okay there? So sorry about bumping you..."

"It's okay," she responded in a _very_ familiar voice. "I probably shouldn't have been stargazing into my camera."

I looked down at her as she picked herself back up, and sure enough, I was looking back at Hazuki Fujiwara herself, though this Hazuki was at least seven or eight years older than the Hazuki from my timeline.

This is gonna take a _lot_ of getting used to, especially until we finish this long quest of ours.

"I haven't seen you around here before," Hazuki stated.

"Honestly, this is my first stop in this city," I proclaimed. "I'd heard some pretty good things about the city's newspaper."

"Well, then how about I be a good samaritan and give you the grand tour of Press Garden?" Hazuki giggled.

"I'd be honored," I replied. As if it was second nature to her, Hazuki took my hand and led me through the winding and twisting pathways of Press Garden, pointing out any interesting things that might catch my interest.

Thanks to Hazuki, I learned that this place was meant to be a combination of nature and technology, a "bright spot in this ever-advancing world" that showed the two could still exist together.

I don't think she noticed that I occasionally squeezed her hand a bit, as if reminding myself that this wasn't _my_ Hazuki, and that I probably wouldn't be seeing any of them for _real_ until I've collected enough Tome Fragments to restore my timeline.

And when I find Croire, I'll _definitely_ make her pay for what she's done.

Once we were on the third floor of Press Garden, Hazuki's watch began flickering. It looked like one of those futuristic communication devices you'd see on a sci-fi show, to be frank.

"Of course, _now_ he replies," Hazuki groaned. "Um, if you'll excuse me, I need to turn these reports in to my boss. He'll have a fit if I don't."

"I know that feeling," I quipped.

"There's a break room just down that hallway," Hazuki stated. "Help yourself."

And with that, Hazuki made like lightning and dashed down the adjacent hallway.

"Hey, what's that?" I wondered, gazing down a photo that Hazuki must have dropped in her mad dash to avoid the wrath of her boss.

I figured it might be related to whatever reports Hazuki was going to turn in.

But what I saw in that picture weirded me out on some primal level that I couldn't really understand.

It appeared to be a picture of the fountain in the city's park, only... something was _wrong_.

The bowl-shape of the fountain structure was twisted beyond recognition into a bizarre butterfly wing shape, with the water inside spiraling around it in ribbons. Beside the fountain, two statues were listing far off center with their limbs bent at unnatural angles.

The truly strange thing about all this, though?

Everything that had been warped and twisted was surrounded by an eerie dark red glow.

But just when I thought I had seen everything, some strange force decided to say 'nuts to that'.

When I glanced at the picture again, it seemed to be getting rather jumpy and static-y, like a television might.

"Okay, _that_ is beyond _all kinds_ of messed up, especially considering what I've seen in my life," I groaned. "Histy, what do you make of this?"

Histoire returned to her normal size and sat down next to me, examining the picture for any clues.

"That is strange, without a doubt," Histoire replied. "But... I can't shake this odd feeling that I've seen that glow before..."

As I tried to study the picture for any clue that could lead us to a culprit, I suddenly heard a strange noise.

Before I could process what was happening, a ripple passed through the area, stained the same dark red as the glow of whatever was messing with reality in the picture.

When the ripple faded away, my eyes were drawn to the printing press in this room.

The printing press that was suddenly moving, rumbling as if it was about to explode.

And, honestly, I expected it to explode.

I _didn't_ expect it to start glowing with that same blood-red light, sprout arms and legs and a freaky-looking face, and start advancing on me as if it wanted to eat me.

It's a situation I've seen in too many horror movies and creature features, and I was _not_ having _any of it._

I quickly drew my Koseki Poron and transformed it into Nenshou Hikari, aiming it towards the mad printing press. 'Mad Press'. Yeah, I'll call it that, just for convenience's sake.

"All right, robo-boy, you'd better back off before I shove this blade right down your processor," I proclaimed. Histoire just sweatdropped.

"Was that... too cheesy, Histy?"

"...a little."

 _ **~The Mad Press : The Printer Wants to Eat Me!~**_

I didn't have time to think of a better joke, because I had to swing Nenshou Hikari to parry a strike from the Mad Press before diving to the side so I could attack its unguarded flank. As quickly as I landed the strike, I had to jump back to avoid getting splashed by the oil that gushed from the 'wound'. That would be _hell_ to get out of my clothes.

The Mad Press reared back before swiftly leaping through the air towards me. I rolled away just as the Mad Press landed, causing a tremor that almost knocked me off my feet. The Mad Press actually _took advantage_ of the opportunity (I know, shocker, right?) and lunged for me again, attempting to sucker punch me.

Sorry, but that's never worked on me. I dodged to the right and retaliated with a wide chop that severed the Mad Press' right arm. Once again avoiding the spurt of oil and other assorted parts, I prepared myself for anything the Mad Press would pull next.

I didn't expect it to open up its remaining hand and start firing random machinery parts like bullets. I began diving and dodging and juking and weaving every which way to avoid the rapid-fire parts, because I did _not_ want to get hit with one. Sharp metal being fired at that speed meets my sadly squishy flesh equals OUCH and possibly _death_ , after all.

Eventually, it got so bad that I had to pull a vending machine away from a nearby wall and hide behind the machine to take cover. This has to stop before I get turned into a pile of swiss cheese.

When I didn't hear any more bullet sounds, I decided to make my move, ditching my suddenly-flimsy cover and moving in to attack the Mad Press while it attempted to 'reload', as it were. Not giving it a chance to fire any more projectiles, I slashed forward, cutting its other hand clean off.

As the Mad Press reared back, I saw its red eyes flaring brightly, and realized that was my cue to get as far away from it as possible. As soon as I'd gotten out of range, the Mad Press slammed its foot down, that action sending out another of those strange dark red energy ripples across the room.

When it passed by me, I suddenly began to question what I was seeing, because now I saw a bunch of nonsensical structures made of jittery red cubes that _definitely_ weren't in the room before.

"Um... Histy, you're seeing this, right?" I asked.

Histoire just nodded, though she looked more lost in thought than disturbed.

Thankfully, the strange trip only lasted a second longer, because the instant I blinked, the cube things were gone and the room was back to normal.

"All right, I think it's time I put this thing out of its circuits," I stated, readying my weapon. Just before the Mad Press could perform another reality-warping shockwave stomp, I dashed in and slashed at its body to knock it off balance.

" _O brilliant blade of coldest steel!"_ I chanted as I began to teleport around the Mad Press multiple times, slashing at it with each jump.

" _Rend the infinite darkness, and crush my enemies to nothing!"_ I shouted, teleporting and attacking the Mad Press faster and faster with each jump until I was nothing but a blur of sword slashes.

" _EXE Drive: Savage Wolf Fury!"_ I exclaimed, taking a step back and flashing forward so fast that I seemed to disappear and reappear behind the Mad Press. That final slash took about two seconds to register, but it basically cleaved the Mad Press vertically in half when it did register, causing it to collapse into a pile of broken scrap after a vicious explosion.

"Oof, that was an ordeal," I quipped as I reached out to claim a Tome Fragment that had emerged from the wreckage, just now noticing Histoire's slightly confused face. "Everything okay, Histy?"

"That phenomenon felt strangely familiar to me," Histoire replied. "Even though I can't precisely place the feeling..."

Just then, I felt like we were being watched. I turned around and saw a man, no doubt one of Press Garden's many reporters, staring in shock at us.

"Um... how much did you see?" I tentatively asked.

"I saw that press come to life and attack you," the reporter answered. "Wasn't it glowing red, like all the recent reports?"

"Yeah, seems like it," I replied. "Does _anyone_ in this city know what's causing them?"

"We're still investigating," the reporter responded. "But whatever it is, it can't be good."

"Yeah, because if these ripples can turn printing presses into _raving lunatic machines_ , it's gotta be something bad," I quipped.

"I'd chalk it up to just regular magic, but I _highly_ doubt normal magic could cause something like this," the reporter stated, quickly catching my attention.

"No kidding," I continued, hoping that the reporter hadn't noticed my hesitation. "I mean, I've seen dark magic before, but nothing like _this_."

"Anyway, I should probably get going," the reporter proclaimed. "And hope my boss is willing to listen to me about this one."

Once the reporter was on his way, I immediately turned to Histoire, who quick as a flash was ready with this timeline's Tome. She always seems to know what I'm thinking.

"According to the Tome, magic is more widely believed in and accepted in this timeline," Histoire explained. "It was due to an event six years ago, where the Majokai's former queen was awakened and cured of her hatred. Apparently, she made an excursion into the human world and attempted to spread her curse across the world before a brave band of witches, much like you and your friends did, managed to pacify her and purified her of the darkness that still lingered. Since then, more and more humans have been learning magic."

"I guess it's what a lot of people in the Majokai wanted, for the human race to understand and accept witch-kind," I noted. "Which would explain why that reporter dude wasn't freaking out because he saw me performing my EXE Drive."

Suddenly, I realized something. "Oh, crap! We've gotta get this photo back to Hazuki-chan or her boss is gonna have a cow!"

With that in mind, I retrieved the photo and dashed out into the main hallways, Histoire following close behind as Mini-Histy, so I could get to Hazuki before something went wrong with her boss.

But as we made our way up the different floors, things started to get really weird again.

More and more strange sights awaited us, all surrounded by that strange red glow and even those jittery red cube-like structures I'd seen earlier. And I know I'm not crazy, because Histoire said she saw them, too.

And even _weirder_ , if it could _get_ any weirder, was that no one but me seemed to see these odd sights. What, was reality glitching to the point it only seemed to allow certain people to see the glitches?

"I'm pretty certain that this is Croire's work," I realized. "I don't know how she did it, but she's gotta have a power source."

"Yes, because as far as I know, Croire has never had those powers before," Histoire answered. "We must make haste before trouble arises again."

After asking a few more reporters where the 'boss' worked, we found our way to the fifth floor of Press Garden, and now I heard shouting coming from a nearby office.

As discreetly as I possibly could, I scooted over to the door and listened in, trying to glean anything I could from the situation.

I heard a man exclaiming loud curses and other random angry thoughts all while Hazuki was apparently trying to save face, only to no avail.

"Ugh, I _hate_ when a boss tries to talk down to their employees," I growled. "All they're trying to do is their _job_ , and you _still_ cut them down like you don't even care about the great work they do?!"

"You sound like you've had experience in that field, Nick," Histoire stated.

"I had a paper route when I was fourteen, and my boss was the _absolute worst_ ," I replied. "It only took about two weeks of that nonsense before I'd had enough, and Momoko was the one who convinced me to basically ditch that job."

I heard footsteps approaching, and backed up just as Hazuki walked through the door, her face a mask of neutral that I _knew_ was just _begging_ to break and let her burst into tears over such unfair treatment.

I tried to reach out to her, but Hazuki just started crying and rushed off.

All right, I'm putting a stop to this _right now_.

"All right, you, what's your problem?!" I exclaimed as I barreled into the office.

The middle-aged man sitting at the desk seemed oddly confused at my statement. "Is everything okay, sir?" he asked.

"Um, how about what you just _said_ to one of your best reporters?!" I growled. "She _literally_ just ran off crying because of whatever _you_ said to her!"

"Are you sure you heard right?" the boss wondered. "Because all I did was tell her she did a good job on the glitching reality piece."

The boss looked down at his reports. "Maybe she's not feeling too well? Fujiwara-san's been out there covering the glitching reality story for a while, and if what you said is true, maybe she's been affected by whatever or whoever is causing it?" the boss quipped.

And that got me thinking, honestly.

"Hey, I never thought about that," I stated. "I'd better go find her, then. I don't like seeing my friends cry."

As we left the office to go find where Hazuki had run off to, I decided to see if I could put the pieces together.

Something (or some _one_ , methinks) in this timeline was using some odd power to warp and bend reality in strange ways, and now apparently it can make people see and hear things that aren't there or didn't actually happen?

What kind of power is Croire playing with?

As we approached the same break room where the Mad Press had attacked, I saw Hazuki sitting on the same bench we had, her eyes covered to stifle any tears.

Even if this wasn't _my_ Hazuki, I couldn't stand seeing her cry.

"Hey," I stated, catching her attention. "You feeling okay?"

Hazuki looked up at me, trying to keep me from seeing her tears. "I assume you let my boss have it?" Hazuki gasped, trying not to fall into another crying fit.

"Well, your boss said that he actually told you 'great job on the report'," I responded. "I heard the shouting and yelling, but then when I went in to tear him a new one, he was perfectly calm. He did say that he believes you might have been affected by this whole reality-warping nonsense, since you've been out there in the thick of it when you're reporting on it."

"I... I never thought of that," Hazuki admitted. "The one thing I want to know, though, is who's the one responsible for this?"

"I might have an idea," I quipped. But before I could voice that idea, I felt a strange surge of energy from behind me. Thinking quickly, I summoned Nenshou Hikari and slashed it forward to cut through a beam of darkness that had been streaking towards me.

"All right, Croire, show yourself!" I shouted. "I'm not in _any_ mood for your stupid games!"

Just as expected, Croire appeared, floating near the top of the room.

"But I thought you _liked_ games, boy?" Croire cackled. "It's always more fun when you can make a game out of it."

Histoire suddenly started staring at Croire pretty intensely, as if something had changed since the last time we'd met.

And now, I could see it as well. You know that big orb by her chest that keeps her cape connected?

Well, it was different now.

Now, it was a strange multi-faceted ruby.

And it was glowing with the same dark shade of red as all of the strange illusions I'd been seeing.

"What, you're surprised?" Croire laughed. "When is the main villain ever _not_ behind everything bad that usually happens?"

"What _is_ that thing, Croire?!" Histoire exclaimed.

"Oh, this?" Croire giggled. "It's just a little thing I found on one of my trips. I call it the Phantom Ruby. And I _love_ what this thing can do!"

"So _that's_ how you've been messing with reality, hasn't it?!" I shouted.

"Pretty much," Croire stated. "Would you like another taste of its power?!"

Croire took the Phantom Ruby from its resting place and raised it above her, and before I could make a move to stop her, called on its power and unleashed another blood-red shockwave.

I felt it pass through me, but I didn't feel anything actually change.

That is, until I looked back up.

"W-what the hell?" I gasped. Croire had vanished, but...

Chika was standing right in front of us.

Only... she looked _pissed as hell_ , clutching her dual spears tightly with a positively _murderous_ expression. And her aura was positively _billowing_ with the power of darkness.

Oh, this _definitely_ isn't good.

"C-Chika?!" Histoire exclaimed. "No... do not tell me that _you_ have become a Dark Oracle, too?!"

 _ **~Shadow Chika : Darkly Distressed Darling~**_

I barely got Nenshou Hikari up in time to block the attack Chika sent my way. Okay, what the hell's going on?! Chika was fine with me after we settled our differences, so why in god's green smurf is she attacking us again?!

Even as I found myself on the defensive from Shadow Chika's wild swings, I tried to figure out what exactly had changed. And considering I had _just talked to Chika_ a few minutes ago to report our progress...

Hold on just a second.

Now things _really_ don't add up here.

My train of thought quickly derailed as I dove to the right to avoid an overhead double slash from Shadow Chika, then was forced to duck from a horizontal stab.

"Chika, listen to me!" Histoire exclaimed. "Please, don't let the darkness overtake you! You're better than this!"

"That's _not_ Chika!" I exclaimed. "I don't know how or why, but that's not _our_ Chika that's attacking us!"

Shadow Chika responded to this by combining her spears back into one and charging straight for Histoire. No way was I having that, so I threw myself in front of Histoire to take the full brunt of Shadow Chika's wild attack.

"Nick!" Histoire shouted.

"I'll be fine!" I exclaimed while I stood there to catch my breath once it was all over. "Trust me, I've been hurt by a _lot_ worse."

As Shadow Chika came back for another strike, I just then noticed that along with her dark aura, she was also glowing slightly red.

Just like the Phantom Ruby.

"I get it now," I proclaimed, swinging upwards to knock Shadow Chika off balance. "You're mine!"

" _O brilliant blade of coldest steel!"_ I chanted as I began to teleport around Shadow Chika multiple times, slashing at her with each jump.

" _Rend the infinite darkness, and crush my enemies to nothing!"_ I shouted, teleporting and attacking Shadow Chika faster and faster with each jump until I was nothing but a blur of sword slashes.

" _EXE Drive: Savage Wolf Fury!"_ I exclaimed, taking a step back and flashing forward so fast that I seemed to disappear and reappear behind Shadow Chika. That final slash took about two seconds to register, but when it did, it sent Shadow Chika flying across the room.

"What is this madness?" Histoire exclaimed.

"Whatever that Chika ripoff is, it's gotta be tied to the Phantom Ruby somehow!" I responded. "It's glowing like every other strange construct we've seen!"

Histoire steadied her hands. "Then allow me to do the honors of wiping this impostor from existence," Histoire proclaimed, glyphs forming around her hands.

To my surprise, two large energy orbs, one of fire and one of water, appeared in Histoire's hands.

" _O power that lies at the root of all creation,"_ Histoire chanted as she threw the orbs towards Shadow Chika. She then generated two more orbs, one of earth (I assumed because it's green) and one of wind.

" _O memory inscribed in ages past..."_ Histoire chanted, throwing the other two orbs so that all four of them surrounded Shadow Chika.

" _Hear my call and arise before me!"_ Histoire exclaimed, and the four orbs converged on Shadow Chika, merging with each other to trap her within a much larger orb of what looked like pure chaos.

Thousands upon thousands of light beams popped to life around the orb, and Histoire raised her right hand.

" _EXE Drive: Ancient Catastrophe!"_ Histoire shouted, and the light beams all attacked the large orb at the same time, creating a brilliant explosion of light and magic that seemingly vaporized Shadow Chika.

"And that's what you get, sucker," I quipped as I reached out to claim another Tome Fragment. Histoire had only sensed two in this timeline, right? I guess that means we're done here.

"Um... pardon me if I sound strange, but what exactly were the two of you fighting?" Hazuki asked once the area was calm again.

Um... did she not see that obvious opponent of ours?

"Wait, did it have something to do with the Phantom Ruby?" I wondered.

"Spot on, kid," Croire laughed as she reappeared again. "I can basically hack your brain with the Phantom Ruby, because it messes with visual and depth perception to feed false information to the brain. So anything you see thanks to the Phantom Ruby is only real to you."

"Where did you attain that dastardly jewel?!" Histoire demanded.

"Oh, _please_ , like I'd be stupid enough to tell you _that_ , Wonderwings," Croire laughed. "You'll just have to take the information by force, _if you can_. But for now, I think I'll just call a tactical retreat. I _do_ have other things to do, after all. Places to go, timelines to shatter, that sorta thing. Hasta la bye-bye, suckers!"

And Croire vanished before I could even draw my weapon again. Ugh, why do they _always_ retreat when they supposedly have a perfect chance?!

Then again, Histoire did tell me that Croire tends to see how "interesting" events can be. So maybe she's deliberately waiting for a challenge?

Seriously, I'd like to meet a villain that actually makes _sense_ for once!

"Was _she_ the one responsible for all of these reality glitches?" Hazuki asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "She was using the Phantom Ruby to warp reality for her own amusement. That's actually why we came here, so we can stop her before she causes any more damage to these alternate timelines."

"Even though I know that magic is more accepted here than in other timelines, I would kindly ask if you could keep Croire's involvement a secret," Histoire continued. "We would not want any more chaos to spread."

"Your secret is safe with me," Hazuki proclaimed. "I know exactly how I can spin this story so that we all know the glitches have stopped without blowing your cover. I didn't spend four years studying my butt off in reporting for nothing, after all."

"Just like the Hazuki-chan I know," I quipped, before slapping my mouth over my hand. Damn it, my own mouth betrayed me...

"You... said something about alternate timelines, didn't you?" Hazuki asked, easily noticing my distress. "I guess you know me in another world, huh?"

"...yeah. The you from my timeline is honestly one of my best friends," I explained. "The reason I'm on this quest is because that jerk Croire destroyed my timeline and everyone in it but me, and I'm looking for the fragments so I can put it back together and get home."

"Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate, huh?" Hazuki quipped.

"No kidding," I replied. "Despite the progress we made here, we've still got a long way to go, honestly."

"Hey, I know you'll find your way back home," Hazuki proclaimed. "You made it this far, right?"

"Spoken like a true believer," Histoire giggled. "Well, we must take our leave now. We have many other timelines to search through."

"May we meet again someday," Hazuki proclaimed.

As Histoire contacted the real Chika, I thought hard about what I was going to do once we got back to my timeline.

After this... well, I think I wanna propose to Momoko. I know, it seems odd that I'd wanna propose so early, but after all the crap we've been through in our lives, no time like the present, eh?

I swear, I'm gonna slap _myself_ if I keep making these stupid time puns.

I looked back up to wave goodbye to Hazuki as light surrounded us and warped us back to the Oracle Sanctuary.

...or so I thought.

When I could see again, I found myself standing on a winding road high up in some strange, kaleidoscope sky. Okay, _now_ what?

"Histy?" I asked.

"No clue," Histoire responded.

I had to duck as something flew by me. I was about to ready my weapon when I saw what had just flown past us.

It was one of the seven Majokai Crystals, and it was rapidly fleeing from us!

"Well, one more item for the weirdness list," I quipped. "Let's chase it down, Histy!"

"Roger!" Histoire proclaimed merging with me so I could use her wings in case I needed to. Having a double jump is _extremely_ useful, people.

 **("Dimension Heist" by Tee Lopes plays)**

With everything ready, I chased after the fleeing crystal through this winding road, not bothering to balk at all the abstract nonsense floating around like giant birds and large planetoids in the distance with small holes in the center.

People, after all the crazy crap I've seen in my life, this kinda thing doesn't really faze me anymore. Besides, I'm more concerned with catching the Majokai Crystal at this point.

Problem is, the crystal seemed to be flying away faster than I could run, even with Histoire boosting my top speed by way of our combined state.

" _Maybe those would help?"_ Histoire offered, and I looked ahead to see a strange cluster of floating blue spheres just lying there on the road.

I tried to grab at some of them as we passed by, but they just absorbed themselves into me as I dashed through them.

With each blue sphere I absorbed, I could feel myself going faster bit by bit.

"I get it now, Histy!" I exclaimed. "We just need to keep collecting these blue spheres until we gain enough speed to catch up to the crystal!"

" _Looks that way,"_ Histoire answered. _"Also, I would suggest not falling off of the course."_

"That's kinda a given," I laughed as I continued to wind my way through the strange road, collecting as many blue spheres as I could so I could keep pace with the crystal.

I eventually completed a full lap around the circuit, still collecting blue spheres and learning how to avoid certain tricky obstacles with a well-timed double jump.

And just as we rounded that third sharp corner, I had finally gained enough speed to overtake the crystal, and I lunged through the air for it, snatching it and coming to rest near a large palm tree island I'd had to maneuver around a fair bit.

I grinned as I pocketed the ruby Majokai Crystal. One down, six to go, I suppose.

Once I'd placed the crystal in my pocket for the moment, I felt another sudden burst of light envelop us, and when it cleared, we were _definitely_ back in the Oracle Sanctuary.

"Everything okay, you two?" Chika wondered. "We got worried when you didn't come back right away."

"Everything's on the up-and-up," I explained. "We just got detoured into a strange place. Good news, though, I found a Majokai Crystal in said strange place."

"Wait, wait, _wait_ , you found one of the crystals?!" Fami exclaimed, rushing over to my position. "I thought they were obliterated, too!"

Just to make sure Fami believed me, I showed her the Majokai Ruby, which was glowing softly with all the light it could.

Now, that light just bolsters my hope that we can put everything back to normal. And soon, hopefully. I don't know how much damage Croire is gonna do until we can put an end to this.

"Holy crap, there might actually be a chance of pulling this off now!" Fami exclaimed. "Here's hoping we can find the other six crystals soon!"

"I have a feeling I know the pattern of when they might show up," I quipped. "We only ended up in that place once our business in that timeline was done, so we'll probably be making a stop in the Special Stage before we get back here."

Kei just sweatdropped. "'Special Stage'? Really, dude?"

"H-Hey, it's the best name I could think of! No one ever said I was good at thinking up names!" I shouted, causing the other Oracles to start laughing.

"Are my naming conventions really that dumb?"

"Not everyone understands, Kelly-kun," Fami sighed, patting my shoulder. "It's an acquired taste."

"Hey, do either of you know what was with those strange readings we picked up?" Mina wondered. "We sensed _very_ disturbing signals."

"It must have been from Croire," Histoire explained. "She is using a gemstone called the Phantom Ruby to warp reality to her liking. Apparently, she can create virtual reality constructs to affect anyone she chooses."

"W-wait a second, Histy, you seriously didn't just say it was a 'Phantom Ruby', did you?" Kei gasped. "God, I really hoped that I'd never have to deal with one of those things again..."

"Wait, Kei, you know about that thing?" I wondered.

"Noire and Uni had to deal with a nutjob wielding a Phantom Ruby during one of their adventures when Neptune went dimension-hopping," Kei explained. "That was the reason everyone was seemingly going crazy. Great, so this mission just got much harder..."

"Well, the nonsense seemed to stop when we forced Croire out of that timeline, so maybe she has to actually be there to use its powers properly," I thought. "But you've got a point, Kei. We need to destroy that Phantom Ruby before anything goes horribly wrong."

Just then, the alarms began to blare. A hero's work is never done, eh?

"We're getting a signal on more Tome Fragments, everybody!" Chika exclaimed.

"Put it on screen!" Histoire responded. The viewscreen showed what appeared to be a swimming facility, watched over from the left side by someone who was definitely familiar to me.

"I guess we're going swimming," I quipped. "Glad I _finally_ decided to take some swimming lessons before all of this. They might actually pay off this time."

"I'm coming this time, too," Kirino proclaimed, dashing over to me. "Hey, I wanna be part of onii-chan's grand adventure, too. It's only fair, right?"

"Isn't that the truth?" I laughed. "All right, Oracles, we're dispatching!"

"ROGER!" all of the present Oracles resounded. In a flash of light, me, Kirino, and Histoire were warped away, ready to continue our adventure.

* * *

Meanwhile, in a mysterious pocket dimension far removed from the time stream itself, Croire watched Histoire and her pals warping to another timeline.

"Guess my work isn't done, either," Croire laughed, casually juggling the Phantom Ruby in her hands. "Eh, at least my job is _fun_ , right?"

This time, Croire made a mental note to _ignore_ that strange voice in her mind. She didn't know who or what it belonged to, but with all of its talk of "get out of my head" and "why did I ever accept you"...

...well, she found it weird.

And if they ever got to be _too_ stifling, then she knew her new friend, the one who had given her the Phantom Ruby in the first place, would easily be able to force the voices back to the darkest recesses of her mind, where they could never be heard from again.

He was skilled like that.

As she looked back at his blue eye and his yellow eye, she cackled lightly to herself at the thought of finally getting a chance to scrap with that boy who Histoire had taken a shine to.

"Honestly, Wonderwings, I never thought you'd take on a sidekick after what happened last time," Croire noted. "But times change, I guess. Even if _your_ time is almost up."

 _To be continued..._

* * *

"Round three begin!" Neptune proclaimed.

"Wrong camera, Neptune," Histoire replied.

"Oh." Neptune turned to face the proper camera. "Round three begin, peeps! Welcome back to Nepstation! The program where we talk about all kinds of awesome stuff!"

"What is today's topic, Neptune?" Histoire asked.

"Honestly, I wanna know how Nick turned into a Super Saiyan," Neptune wondered. "I thought only Saiyans could do that, and that's not even the right series for this story!"

"Oh, you mean my super form, Nep?" Nick quipped, sliding into view.

"Where did you go for so long, buddy? We had to start without you!" Neptune asked.

"Eh, Rom and Ram wanted to play hide and seek, and they're _too good at it_ ," Nick stated. "I had to look in some pretty out-of-the-way places before Blanc came to get them. Add to the fact that I didn't want Blanc to get the wrong idea..."

"Oof, I feel ya," Neptune groaned. "That actually happened to me a few times."

"Honestly, my super form looks a lot like a Super Saiyan, even though the author considers the form to be more like Super Sonic in how it's handled," Nick explained. "Even though Super Sonic _was_ inspired by the Super Saiyan... that's meta as crap."

"Did you get really, really _angry_ to unleash it?" Neptune asked.

"Neptune, please don't encourage that..." Histoire sighed.

"You know, Histy, she's actually right," Nick replied, catching Histoire's attention. "For me, specifically, it happened in _Diamond and Pearl: The Final Cut_ episode six, 'A Sad and Crushing Loss! Nick's Electrifying Transformation!' We were in another battle with Erika, and she said something that really got my blood boiling. Here, let's watch! Or... read, whichever one it is. Ack, now she's got _me_ doing it!"

 _With this insult, something in Nick's brain snapped like an overstretched rubber band. He lifted his head and screamed in outrage to the sky, so loud it almost felt like the sonic boom from earlier._

 _Erika didn't seem at all fazed, and was about to go and attack when yet another wave of magical pressure surged from Nick, this wave ten times more intense than the first two. This time, the Ojamajos did fall to their knees due to the immense pressure of the wave. Erika stood rooted to her spot, confused at what was going on._

 _The ground around Nick cracked and splintered, forming a small crater around him. As his tormented scream resounded in the heavens, a brilliant aura of light flared to life around him, growing larger and fiercer with each passing second until it became so bright that everyone had to cover their eyes._

" _What the heck is Kelly-kun doin'?!" Aiko shouted._

" _Heck if I know!" Doremi yelled._

 _After about twenty seconds, the bright light faded, only to reveal something even stranger._

 _Momoko looked in utter disbelief at what she saw, trying to comprehend just what exactly she was seeing._

 _Nick was standing there, his clenched fists slightly to his side, but that wasn't what bewildered everyone._

 _His hair had become spiky and shifted from tree brown to a radiant golden yellow, standing straight up and giving him an appearance similar to that of Super Sonic._

 _Nick's eyes had become a soul-piercing shade of red, reflecting his now barely-restrained anger._

 _And a fierce golden aura was raging around him, showing that his strength had increased quite considerably thanks in part to this rather strange transformation._

 _The Ojamajos looked with surprise at the strange form Nick had transformed into._

" _What did he...?" Doremi asked._

 _Majorin suddenly realized something._

" _That couldn't be," Majorin gasped. "Could it?"_

 _Erika took a few cautious steps backwards. Not even two minutes ago, she and Nick were pretty much even-steven when it came to their magical power. But now, Nick's magical power had seemingly shot leagues ahead of her own._

 _What was going on here?_

" _What... what are you?" Erika gasped._

 _Nick just smirked viciously; something very out-of-character for him._

" _Wouldn't you like to know?" Nick growled, his voice deep and menacing._

 _Suddenly, Nick disappeared in a quick flash, appearing to have phased out of existence._

 _Erika was only able to take one look around before she felt intense, unbearable pain in her stomach area and couldn't do anything but double over._

 _Momoko got a good look at the battlefield and saw that Nick had reappeared in front of Erika, having literally moved so fast that he appeared to have temporarily phased out of existence, the Ojamajos only seeing him disappear and reappear._

 _The reason Erika had doubled over in pain was because Nick had used his transformation-boosted movement speed to dart forward and drive his elbow into Erika's chest so forcefully, the others could easily hear Erika's ribs crack and break from the sheer force of the strike. The sickening cracking sound echoed across the empty, night-soaked street, actually making a few of the Ojamajos cringe at the sound._

 _Not satisfied with just this, the super-powered Nick lashed out with a leaping roundhouse kick that struck Erika upside the head and sent her stumbling back, making her lose her grip on her keyblades. Nick continued his assault by rushing forward and uppercutting Erika into the air (resisting the rather inappropriate urge to shout "SHORYUKEN" as he did so), then leaping after her and driving home a two-handed overhead slam that sent the hooded girl crashing back to the ground in a world of pain._

" _Had enough?" Nick growled, his voice still deep and rather threatening._

" _You..." Erika gasped, trying to regain her composure through the pain of her shattered ribs. "Oh, you little BASTARD!"_

 _Erika let out a war cry, fighting through the pain, and charged straight at Nick, hoping to land a hefty right hook and bend his head back._

 _So she was surprised when Nick intercepted her strike and caught her hand in his own as easily as grabbing a cookie. Erika tried to force her way through Nick's defenses, but he wouldn't crumble. He stayed perfectly still for a couple seconds, simply holding Erika's fist at bay._

 _Then, Nick began to force Erika's hand down at an unnatural angle. Erika attempted to resist, but she couldn't break the green witch's iron grip on her hand. After a bit of this, Erika's hand bent at an angle, and another cracking sound resounded._

 _Erika yelped in pain again, but didn't have time to ruminate on it, as Nick had just tossed her away with little to no effort._

 _Focusing on finishing this fight, Nick again disappeared from his spot and reappeared further down the street. After a split second, Nick leapt into the air so quickly it appeared that he was flying up to meet Erika as she fell._

 _Not wasting a single second, Nick formed a golden energy sword in his right hand, and as he reached Erika, slashed with extreme ferocity at her chest area. This single strike seemed to do it, as Erika collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap._

 _Nick landed on the ground not too far away, dispelling the energy sword he'd just used and staring hatefully at Erika. The whole ordeal hadn't even lasted a minute._

" _I hope you've learned your lesson," Nick proclaimed._

 _Erika tried to respond, but found she couldn't. Her injuries were far too severe, and though they weren't life-threatening, Nick had done quite a number on her with so few actual attacks._

" _You... think... you think you've won..." Erika gasped, trying her best not to exacerbate her injuries and make them any worse. "You may have gotten the better of me now... but those powers can't protect you forever..."_

 _Nick responded to this by dashing forward and brutally slamming his clenched fist into Erika's face, breaking her nose with no effort at all and sending her back._

" _This... isn't... over..." Erika growled, wincing at her broken ribs, and disappeared in a flash of darkness._

"Ouch, that was brutal," Neptune stated.

"Yeah, it kinda messed with my sense of reason until I learned how to better control it," Nick stated. "That's why I tended to save it for a last-resort option or if I had something to balance that power out. Now, just like a Super Saiyan, ironically, it's something that comes naturally to me. Watch this!"

Nick closed his eyes and concentrated. A golden aura burst to life around him as he transformed into his super form, the force of the transformation pushing the Nepstation desk away slightly.

"That's _awesome_!" Neptune exclaimed.

"Um... I think you hit one of the cameramen," Histoire stated, looking slightly worried.

Nick looked over to confirm, suddenly going into a panic when he noticed that, indeed, one of the cameramen was down, his camera having fallen over on him due to the force of Nick's transformation. "Oh, crap! Hey, are you okay, buddy?!"

"So, that happened," Neptune stated. "I guess that's it for Nepstation today, everybody! We'll see you next episode! Bye-bye!"

"Neptune, help me lift this camera off of him!"

* * *

On the next episode...

Nick: And who else would I expect to be running a swimming school? Ai-chan must have found her pool talent after all.

Kirino: I didn't know she couldn't swim...

Nick: Well, to be fair, she _could_ , she just wasn't all that good at it. Compare to me, who couldn't swim for _beans_ until recently.

Fami: She _was_ still smarting over that one loss to Leon, after all.

Nick: She's gotta learn to let that stuff go, right? It was just _one game_ , and even then, I helped her clinch the rematch!

Kirino: But it looks like she _really_ improved here, huh?

Nick: Only one way to find out.

Histoire: Next time on _Ojamajo Doremi Zero_ , "Submerge at the Splash Stage"! We hope to see you there!


End file.
